WaPo on the mental health crisis students are experiencing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am happy they are prioritizing vaccinating teachers and staff, but what about parents? That is the reason kids are being kept home. Not because we’re worried about our kids dying of covid but because we are worried about our health. Why, here in DC, will an overweight 25 year old get a vaccine months before I do? I can’t send my kids back until I’m vaxxed.

I agree with this. With the new variants and spiking rates in DC, I’m keeping my child home to protect myself and his dad. Mortality rates for men in their 50s is quite high, yet they are last on the priority list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am happy they are prioritizing vaccinating teachers and staff, but what about parents? That is the reason kids are being kept home. Not because we’re worried about our kids dying of covid but because we are worried about our health. Why, here in DC, will an overweight 25 year old get a vaccine months before I do? I can’t send my kids back until I’m vaxxed.

Because dc has decided that obesity is a pre existing condition. Which it is. Some people are never happy. Are you also mad that they are reserving vaccine slots for wards 7 and 8?

Of course not. Those parents should go first. Your logic is confounding. If they want kids back in schools, they must prioritize vaxxing those communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am happy they are prioritizing vaccinating teachers and staff, but what about parents? That is the reason kids are being kept home. Not because we’re worried about our kids dying of covid but because we are worried about our health. Why, here in DC, will an overweight 25 year old get a vaccine months before I do? I can’t send my kids back until I’m vaxxed.

Because dc has decided that obesity is a pre existing condition. Which it is. Some people are never happy. Are you also mad that they are reserving vaccine slots for wards 7 and 8?

Of course not. Those parents should go first. Your logic is confounding. If they want kids back in schools, they must prioritize vaxxing those communities.

They are giving them out by priority. Obesity is a priority. In some states they are excluding smokers from vaccines. The DOH decides each state’s priority. I’m sorry you are not part of what DC consider priority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are also students who have had an significant improvement in their mental health during DL because the schedule allows them more sleep or freedom from bullying, chaotic classrooms, etc. My daughter has barely stuttered this entire time. She has friends who have been able to reduce meds. Hearing the same from other parents on DCUM. Guess our children don’t matter.

No one is trying to take that away from you. We just want hybrid as well for those kids who need it. Stop with the self-serving false equivalence.

This. Enough with claims that we need to fix every societal ill before kids can go back to school. It's not a valid position.

As an aside, please either resolve the bullying issues swiftly or place your child in another school. Either way, get your child the professional therapy she needs if she's stuttering due to anxiety and actually prefers to avoid socialization rather than be in a school environment. This sounds like an untenable environment at her school and you've let it go on for far too long. This is in no way a reason to keep schools closed, but rather an issue that you've failed to resolve. I'm saying this as a parent of a child who was bullied. As soon as I knew about it I pushed until it was resolved. We even moved because although the issue was resolved for my child, the school just had a bad environment when it came to bullying and the leadership was poor. Please advocate for your daughter immediately. Don't be afraid to have conflict with the teachers and principal. They're not your friends. Your daughter should matter much more than your relationships with school officials do. I'm not trying to be unkind but your daughter is really suffering here. Hugs to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am happy they are prioritizing vaccinating teachers and staff, but what about parents? That is the reason kids are being kept home. Not because we’re worried about our kids dying of covid but because we are worried about our health. Why, here in DC, will an overweight 25 year old get a vaccine months before I do? I can’t send my kids back until I’m vaxxed.

Because dc has decided that obesity is a pre existing condition. Which it is. Some people are never happy. Are you also mad that they are reserving vaccine slots for wards 7 and 8?

Of course not. Those parents should go first. Your logic is confounding. If they want kids back in schools, they must prioritize vaxxing those communities.

They are giving them out by priority. Obesity is a priority. In some states they are excluding smokers from vaccines. The DOH decides each state’s priority. I’m sorry you are not part of what DC consider priority.

My argument is that if they want kids back in schools, they must vax the families. It’s common sense. Nobody’s overly concerned their children will fare poorly with covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am happy they are prioritizing vaccinating teachers and staff, but what about parents? That is the reason kids are being kept home. Not because we’re worried about our kids dying of covid but because we are worried about our health. Why, here in DC, will an overweight 25 year old get a vaccine months before I do? I can’t send my kids back until I’m vaxxed.

Because dc has decided that obesity is a pre existing condition. Which it is. Some people are never happy. Are you also mad that they are reserving vaccine slots for wards 7 and 8?

Of course not. Those parents should go first. Your logic is confounding. If they want kids back in schools, they must prioritize vaxxing those communities.

They are giving them out by priority. Obesity is a priority. In some states they are excluding smokers from vaccines. The DOH decides each state’s priority. I’m sorry you are not part of what DC consider priority.

My argument is that if they want kids back in schools, they must vax the families. It’s common sense. Nobody’s overly concerned their children will fare poorly with covid.

Some of us are okay with taking the risk to get our kids back in school now because our kids need school that desperately. So we are accepting in-person spots if offered but you can say no. That’s a good feature of the plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are also students who have had an significant improvement in their mental health during DL because the schedule allows them more sleep or freedom from bullying, chaotic classrooms, etc. My daughter has barely stuttered this entire time. She has friends who have been able to reduce meds. Hearing the same from other parents on DCUM. Guess our children don’t matter.

No one is trying to take that away from you. We just want hybrid as well for those kids who need it. Stop with the self-serving false equivalence.

This. Enough with claims that we need to fix every societal ill before kids can go back to school. It's not a valid position.

As an aside, please either resolve the bullying issues swiftly or place your child in another school. Either way, get your child the professional therapy she needs if she's stuttering due to anxiety and actually prefers to avoid socialization rather than be in a school environment. This sounds like an untenable environment at her school and you've let it go on for far too long. This is in no way a reason to keep schools closed, but rather an issue that you've failed to resolve. I'm saying this as a parent of a child who was bullied. As soon as I knew about it I pushed until it was resolved. We even moved because although the issue was resolved for my child, the school just had a bad environment when it came to bullying and the leadership was poor. Please advocate for your daughter immediately. Don't be afraid to have conflict with the teachers and principal. They're not your friends. Your daughter should matter much more than your relationships with school officials do. I'm not trying to be unkind but your daughter is really suffering here. Hugs to her.

+1

Bullying and school anxiety are important issues we should be working to address. But not at the expense of every other child! And it’s not a long term solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why there’s no sense of urgency to get kids back. To me, keeping schools closed for almost a year is a crisis. I don’t think we even know yet the scope.

If you were to watch the Council meeting yesterday where people testified about reopening to City Councillors, you'd understand the issue. 90% of speakers were STRONGLY against reopening. NO mention made of the damage to children by those presenting, to mental health or to learning or for anything at all.

These are the loudest voices, most organized, by far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are also students who have had an significant improvement in their mental health during DL because the schedule allows them more sleep or freedom from bullying, chaotic classrooms, etc. My daughter has barely stuttered this entire time. She has friends who have been able to reduce meds. Hearing the same from other parents on DCUM. Guess our children don’t matter.

Are you nuts? Your kids can choose DL even in normal times, it's called Friendship online school. Try that. We can't close all schools just so your child has access to DL???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am happy they are prioritizing vaccinating teachers and staff, but what about parents? That is the reason kids are being kept home. Not because we’re worried about our kids dying of covid but because we are worried about our health. Why, here in DC, will an overweight 25 year old get a vaccine months before I do? I can’t send my kids back until I’m vaxxed.

Because dc has decided that obesity is a pre existing condition. Which it is. Some people are never happy. Are you also mad that they are reserving vaccine slots for wards 7 and 8?

Of course not. Those parents should go first. Your logic is confounding. If they want kids back in schools, they must prioritize vaxxing those communities.

They are giving them out by priority. Obesity is a priority. In some states they are excluding smokers from vaccines. The DOH decides each state’s priority. I’m sorry you are not part of what DC consider priority.

My argument is that if they want kids back in schools, they must vax the families. It’s common sense. Nobody’s overly concerned their children will fare poorly with covid.

Some of us are okay with taking the risk to get our kids back in school now because our kids need school that desperately. So we are accepting in-person spots if offered but you can say no. That’s a good feature of the plan.

The only reason they moved teachers up the list is Bowser was getting embarrassed by MD and VA. They are vaccinating teachers and Bowser had no plan to do so. People started pointing that out and then she changed positions. At the PD the DOH rep said vaccination wasn't even important. He said that again at the council hearing, that vaccinations are not important. She got embarrassed that is the only change here. If you want to be in the front of the line, you need to find a way to embarrass her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are also students who have had an significant improvement in their mental health during DL because the schedule allows them more sleep or freedom from bullying, chaotic classrooms, etc. My daughter has barely stuttered this entire time. She has friends who have been able to reduce meds. Hearing the same from other parents on DCUM. Guess our children don’t matter.

Mental health professional/researcher here. I agree that some kids, removed from distractions, bullying, etc., are doing better academically and emotionally at home. But there's no denying that a larger proportion of both adults and children have had mental health difficulties that have either begun or gotten worse during the pandemic.

I have friends whose kids have chosen to do DL when hybrid was available, since they prefer to be home and are doing better this way. While I sympathize with those families, from a public health perspective, we need to think about how to get the majority of kids back in school. There may be long-term societal repercussions for this generation of kids if we allow them to continue to be out of school, not to mention economic repercussions given the families (mostly mothers) who have quit jobs or cut back on work.

Thank you for this, and for mentioning mothers economic and career impacts (the least important topic in our society apparently).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am happy they are prioritizing vaccinating teachers and staff, but what about parents? That is the reason kids are being kept home. Not because we’re worried about our kids dying of covid but because we are worried about our health. Why, here in DC, will an overweight 25 year old get a vaccine months before I do? I can’t send my kids back until I’m vaxxed.

Because dc has decided that obesity is a pre existing condition. Which it is. Some people are never happy. Are you also mad that they are reserving vaccine slots for wards 7 and 8?

Of course not. Those parents should go first. Your logic is confounding. If they want kids back in schools, they must prioritize vaxxing those communities.

They are giving them out by priority. Obesity is a priority. In some states they are excluding smokers from vaccines. The DOH decides each state’s priority. I’m sorry you are not part of what DC consider priority.

Older age is a higher risk factor than most co-morbidities. It does not make sense that middle aged people are absolutely last priority when many have school aged children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why there’s no sense of urgency to get kids back. To me, keeping schools closed for almost a year is a crisis. I don’t think we even know yet the scope.

If you were to watch the Council meeting yesterday where people testified about reopening to City Councillors, you'd understand the issue. 90% of speakers were STRONGLY against reopening. NO mention made of the damage to children by those presenting, to mental health or to learning or for anything at all.

These are the loudest voices, most organized, by far.

I did watch much of it. I was absolutely flummoxed. There was very little mention of children’s current wellbeing at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am happy they are prioritizing vaccinating teachers and staff, but what about parents? That is the reason kids are being kept home. Not because we’re worried about our kids dying of covid but because we are worried about our health. Why, here in DC, will an overweight 25 year old get a vaccine months before I do? I can’t send my kids back until I’m vaxxed.

Because dc has decided that obesity is a pre existing condition. Which it is. Some people are never happy. Are you also mad that they are reserving vaccine slots for wards 7 and 8?

Of course not. Those parents should go first. Your logic is confounding. If they want kids back in schools, they must prioritize vaxxing those communities.

They are giving them out by priority. Obesity is a priority. In some states they are excluding smokers from vaccines. The DOH decides each state’s priority. I’m sorry you are not part of what DC consider priority.

My argument is that if they want kids back in schools, they must vax the families. It’s common sense. Nobody’s overly concerned their children will fare poorly with covid.

Some of us are okay with taking the risk to get our kids back in school now because our kids need school that desperately. So we are accepting in-person spots if offered but you can say no. That’s a good feature of the plan.

The only reason they moved teachers up the list is Bowser was getting embarrassed by MD and VA. They are vaccinating teachers and Bowser had no plan to do so. People started pointing that out and then she changed positions. At the PD the DOH rep said vaccination wasn't even important. He said that again at the council hearing, that vaccinations are not important. She got embarrassed that is the only change here. If you want to be in the front of the line, you need to find a way to embarrass her.

They had to say that because otherwise we're looking at 6 + more weeks of being closed.

Of course, if we could allow more kids to come back at that point, instead of 20%, it could be worth it, but I feel 6 more weeks is too long to wait to get started. The city has already met all the safety conditions on buildings (and if it has not, those specific schools should delay but not all schools).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are also students who have had an significant improvement in their mental health during DL because the schedule allows them more sleep or freedom from bullying, chaotic classrooms, etc. My daughter has barely stuttered this entire time. She has friends who have been able to reduce meds. Hearing the same from other parents on DCUM. Guess our children don’t matter.

Mental health professional/researcher here. I agree that some kids, removed from distractions, bullying, etc., are doing better academically and emotionally at home. But there's no denying that a larger proportion of both adults and children have had mental health difficulties that have either begun or gotten worse during the pandemic.

I have friends whose kids have chosen to do DL when hybrid was available, since they prefer to be home and are doing better this way. While I sympathize with those families, from a public health perspective, we need to think about how to get the majority of kids back in school. There may be long-term societal repercussions for this generation of kids if we allow them to continue to be out of school, not to mention economic repercussions given the families (mostly mothers) who have quit jobs or cut back on work.

PP again, meant to finish my thought. I think we do need to think about how to best serve the kids who are actually doing better at home. I'm not sure remaining in DL indefinitely is the answer. Getting the right supports at school, expanding mental health and special ed services, etc., may be the better answer, and perhaps allowing some sort of hybrid for these kids where they get at least some in-person time. But a return to in-person should proceed when possible to serve the needs of the majority of kids--including many from disadvantaged backgrounds--who are not doing well under DL.

Vast, vast majority you mean. I have not met one family who is doing better this way, in elementary.