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The Ombudsman for Children has said that he is concerned about the regression that all children have experienced due to the pandemic and that children will look back at this period and say that adults and the system failed them.
The Ombudsman said his office has received reports of Leaving Cert students who were suicidal; parents who are unable to care for children with special needs at home due to challenging behaviors; and children who are taken to emergency psychiatric appointments for sedation during confinement.
Dr. Muldoon said he is concerned about the long-term impact the pandemic will have on children’s mental health, their trust in adults and in society at large.
“My biggest problem is the regression of children across the board. The impact on their self-confidence, their ability to trust the system and the adults who run it.
“There could be a backlash in relation to that in the future, it’s hard to predict what it will be, but I certainly think that children, the youth of this generation are going to have a serious view of how we deal with as adults, how our systems supported them and they gave them the support they need. And I think they are going to look into that and say we failed. “
The Children’s Ombudsman also said that the government had not put in place a plan to reopen education despite having enough time.
Dr. Muldoon said that he has been petitioning the Department for these plans since last September and did not understand why there was a delay in the reopening of special schools and regular schools serving children with special needs.
He said the reopening of schools for all children must be negotiated as quickly as possible with children rather than adults at the center of the plans.
And he said that any plan that is made must be permanent so that children do not face this problem again.
“When I see a blockage when it comes to back-to-school planning, I think it really is someone who is ignoring what is happening on the ground.
“It shouldn’t take that long to plan. Kids need that routine, parents need that routine and the safety that comes with it. There is much more than education. It should move much faster,” he added. .
The ISPPC said its Childline service has also seen an increase in anxiety, loneliness and suicidal thoughts among children who contacted the service in the last year of the pandemic.
Its CEO, John Church, said the trends were worrisome.
“Children shouldn’t feel so anxious at any age, but especially during confinement.
“Kids as young as eight, nine or ten are calling to say they feel very, very lonely,” Church said.
“They miss their school friends, they miss their grandparents. We have 13 and 14 year olds calling us with suicidal thoughts, which has to be a direct hit from this pandemic.”
He said reopening schools as a matter of urgency and allowing children to return to their past times as soon as possible was key to addressing these issues.
“That is having an impact on children now, and it will definitely have an impact in the future. I think we need children to return to school, to their surroundings, to their friends, family and trusted adults, as soon as possible,” he said Mr. Church.
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