It’s safe to say that this year has proven to be a challenge for families, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. The last few weeks have been a mixed bag, as many communities experienced a downturn in infections and deaths — while others continue to see them spike up.
With all the uncertainty, many parents are understandably concerned about their child’s mental health and what the fallout will be from months of isolation and disruptions to their schooling and social interactions.
The pandemic and your children's mental health
Reducing toxic stress is key to preventing children’s mental health problems
Matt Larson is a researcher and the entrepreneur behind the Happy Child app created to help parents understand and avoid the consequences of toxic stress on their kids.
“What we found out really just in the last 10 years or so is this thing we call toxic stress appears to be responsible for a lot of our well-being,” he told Mom.com. He explained that it all comes down to the release of two hormones: cortisol and oxytocin.
“You can think of trauma — even minor trauma — if that never got processed, that can affect you to this day. Cortisol relates to trauma,” Larson said. But “oxytocin is about relationships — you’re in a safe relationship, someone you love gives you a hug…Deep bonds with a parent will make it highly more likely you can bond with other human beings.”
Larson believes the pandemic has positive as well as negative influences on the mental health of our kids.
“In some cases, like if they were being bullied at school, they’re actually better off now, because they’re not getting that cortisol spike and they’re not nervous about being bullied,” he said. “But largely, the lack of social interaction is causing children’s oxytocin to go down. They’re at home, and home environments are often because of covid, feeling all cooped up. Family members are getting more agitated with each other, and so the tension level is often going up at home.”
But Larson is optimistic about the fact that all global pandemics come to an end eventually, and kids can be incredibly resilient.
“The good news is that any relationship can be repaired. We’re learning how to build them on a step by step fashion,” Larson said.
