Noli Timere: The Role of Reassuring Adults in Dealing with COVID-19 Anxiety in Pediatric Age

Abstract

Since the earliest stages of the Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) spread, the elderly has been identified as the most vulnerable and health authorities have rightly focused on that population. Minor attention was paid to pediatric populations and their emotional reactions. Actually, children and adolescents faced severe anxiety, fear and stress conditions. An efficient management of the pandemic, therefore, must take into account the pediatric population which cannot be neglected as a minor matter compared to the elderly, the economy and health care. Since the lockdown time is over, children and adolescents must recover sociality, return to living in the open air, rediscover playing, free time, aiming for the beauty of their everyday life. In order to mitigate the long-term impact of COVID-19, the key response is the reassuring presence of the adult as ‘a secure base’. The current study aimed to collect an overview of the recent references that report evidence on the role of adults in containing pandemic anxiety COVID-19 in pediatric populations, suggesting the need to ensure a reassuring presence of the adult, an effective child-parent communication, a child-friendly day and a long-lasting shared time with parents.

Mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents during the covid-19 pandemic

“…Encourage open, age appropriate parent-child-family discussion about coping with the pandemic, including addressing concerns 3963. Cross sectional surveys and narrative reviews emphasise the importance of communication in mitigating symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress 3964…”

Joys or Sorrows of Parenting During the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Scoping Review

“…However, while evidence is growing on their effectiveness, less is known on the impact of such measures [6][7][8][9][10][11]. Most studies to date have focused on the impact of mitigation measures, particularly lockdown measures, on older adults [12][13][14][15][16] and children and adolescents [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

The Playing Brain. The Impact of Video Games on Cognition and Behavior in Pediatric Age at the Time of Lockdown: A Systematic Review

“…Indeed, a widely growing number of children and adolescents play VGs for a long time, often developing real addictive behaviors [ 2 , 3 ]. In addition, the current outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the following lockdown have significantly reduced outdoor activities and direct interpersonal relationships [ 4 , 5 ]. However, literature data are still inconsistent.…”