By Stacie Smith (Director of Relations and Outreach, Young Canadians Roundtable on Health)
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on many people’s lives, especially children and youth. There are many uncertainties for them, such as wondering when they might be able to play with their friends again and what the upcoming school year may look like. Their fears and worries are just as important as anyone else’s and need to be remembered during this time of uncertainty.
Every single child in Canada deserves the best start in life, no matter where they live in the country. There can be long-term mental health effects of the closures and distancing measures, especially in infants and toddlers who have had their day-to-day routines disrupted and changed. One way of keeping things normal is to always have structured days with regular mealtimes and bedtimes, as they are an essential part of keeping kids happy and healthy. Planning daily walks can be a good way to create structure and ensure physical activity. Overall, children do better when their activities are predictable and therefore, whenever possible, inform them about any change in routine ahead of time.
Kids feel inspired when they know what to do to keep themselves safe. It is always a great step to let children make their own decisions when it comes to staying safe and healthy. It gives them a sense of pride that they made a decision that kept them protected within their limits. Teaching kids that staying healthy and having good hygiene habits can help them stay strong and well. It’s also necessary to set limits. For example, some may need structured and unstructured time, as well as supervised and unsupervised time.
With the most recent release of the ParticipACTION Report Card giving a grade of D+ to Canadian Youth for Physical Activity, it is more important than ever to ensure children are getting enough physical activity during a time when children are not playing with their friends or getting outside as often. We can still do everything we can to ensure our families’ bodies and minds are strong, their moods are boosted and energy levels are prime. ParticipACTION has some great resources to keep everyone moving.
There have also been many questions about how thousands of children who rely on food programs will be able to access those critical meals safely. For example, the Government of Nova Scotia funds school healthy eating and breakfast programs, but some fall short of meeting the needs of students and they rely too heavily on support from volunteers to deliver them.
Since classes ended early in March, Feed Nova Scotia has been delivering meals to students who would normally get them at school through its annual After the Bell program. This year, it received more than 9,000 food packages for kids. It is still unclear how school food programs will look this fall, but there are many factors at play when considering what changes need to be made.
There will need to be changes to communal eating spaces to accommodate for physical distancing, personal protective equipment provided to those who serve food to students, as well as how to best prepare food that may not be prepackaged.
It will become very important to keep children safe and comfortable when coming back together in childcare settings, summer camps, on the playground, and ultimately, back to school this coming fall. While most provincial governments have released their reopening guidelines for schools this fall, Nova Scotia has not. They have indicated that they want to take their time, but many parents and other government parties are calling on the government to provide a plan sooner rather than later. Kids are already worried about what the fall will look like; it doesn’t make sense to make them worry longer than needed.
Stacie Smith is a recent Kinesiology graduate from Saint John, New Brunswick and the founder of the COVID-19 PSE Support Network. She is also the Vice President of the Kinesiology Association of Nova Scotia. She was the recipient of the PHE Canada Student Leadership Award in 2018-2019 for her leadership role in the School of Health & Human Performance.