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Swiss pediatricians’ telephones are all the rage. Because with the second wave of the corona pandemic, the fears of countless mothers and fathers have returned. One of them is of particular interest to the medical community: many parents avoid hospitals and doctor’s offices for fear of coming into contact with the virus.
This dangerous reluctance was already felt in the closing of spring. Now she makes herself felt again. Ulrike Brennan (44), director of operations for the pediatrician, warns: “If diseases are not detected early enough, they can endanger the lives of children.”
Many parents delayed visiting the doctor, says the pediatrician. The result: “The children who come to us are sicker than usual.”
Exams and vaccination appointments canceled
No less dangerous – preventive examinations and vaccination appointments are also repeatedly canceled. If there is no vaccine against measles, youngsters are at a higher risk of infection.
Developmental difficulties, such as language disorders, are often not recognized early.
There is no reason to avoid the doctor’s office. In view of strict protection concepts, a visit to the pediatrician is safe, says pediatrician Brennan. Patients with suspected corona would be strictly separated from the others.
But even if measles does not occur and language disorders are not to be feared, many children will feel the consequences of the pandemic body and soul. “Generation Z was yesterday,” says the pediatrician. “Now comes the Corona generation.”
Children are more likely to be overweight
Although children are adaptable, they grow up less carefree due to the many restrictions in school and free time. Many people lack exercise because soccer, ballet, or scouting training is no longer available. It is already evident that the little ones are often overweight. And that single children in particular suffered from a lack of social contact.
The extent to which Corona measures affect children is shown in the first results of an ongoing study at the Institute of Social Work and Law of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, in which authors Seraina Caviezel Schmitz and Paula Krüger they are currently surveying families. In the post-lockdown period, parents of a total of two-fifths of the children reported difficulty concentrating or behavior problems. One in five children was often depressed and repeatedly complained of physical complaints such as stomach pain. “That was especially the case for the slightly older children from the age of nine,” say Krüger and Caviezel Schmitz. In addition, more children showed aggressive behavior. That, in turn, put pressure on the family climate. The mood was, and is again, often cloudy.
The study authors say families should feel more relieved during and after such exceptional situations. Special attention should be paid to families who are already in a difficult situation regardless of Corona.
More conflict and domestic violence
Specialized institutions are also registering how strong the pandemic is in the psyche of minors. Psychiatric facilities for children and adolescents are overcrowded throughout the country. And Pro Juventute’s counseling service 147 received significantly more inquiries from March to August than in the same period in 2019. About 47 percent more girls and boys reported conflicts with their parents, 44 percent more young people reported cases of domestic violence, 153 percent more than usual complained of the loss of friends.
Regional contact points for child and adult protection authorities (Kesb) have also registered more cases since the end of the shutdown than in previous years. “Many families are suffering from the restrictions that come with the pandemic,” says Patrick Fassbind, president of Kesb in the canton of Basel-Stadt. This allows new family problems to emerge or existing ones to grow stronger. Fassbind fears: “Certainly there has also been more aggression and violence. Much went unnoticed, the number of unreported cases should be high. “
And indeed: a survey by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) confirms the fears of the Kesb chairman in Basel. The yet unpublished study in the canton of Zurich showed that the number of attacks on locked children had increased.
Children “approached” more frequently
As a result, 3.3 percent of the parents surveyed said they “accosted or pushed” their children more frequently during the Corona shutdown in March and April. That doesn’t seem particularly significant. Extrapolated, however, it means that 5,000 families in the canton of Zurich alone reported these minor attacks more frequently than usual. Every thirty households with children under the age of 18 are affected.
The study concludes: “The more frequent presence of children in households, which was associated with confinement-induced homeschooling, appears to increase the risk of using violence against children.”
After all, the number of serious punching or kicking attacks doesn’t seem to have increased. About one percent of the parents even reported that they would have approached their children less frequently in the confinement. Because there is also that: homes in which family life has improved during the confinement.
Stress leads to aggression
ZHAW’s findings on parental violence are consistent with similar studies abroad. Study author Dirk Baier, director of the Crime and Crime Prevention Institute, is not surprised: “We know that particularly stressful situations have an impact on domestic violence.” The greater the stress in the family, the more likely it is to become aggressive.
Regulates Bernhard Hug, CEO of Kinderschutz Schweiz: “The pandemic does not stop in the games room.” She warns: “Financial and health concerns increase the risk of violence.”
The improvement is not in sight. Many experts surveyed by SonntagsBlick fear that family conflicts will worsen in the coming months. And that even more cases of domestic violence can be expected.
