The New York Times had a peculiar piece in its morning newsletter entitled No Way to Grow Up in which the paper admits that maybe – just maybe – policy makers prioritized the health and well-being of adults over children during the COVID pandemic.
“American children are starting 2022 in crisis,” NYT’s David Leonhardt writes, “I have long been aware that the pandemic was upending children’s lives. But until I spent time pulling together data and reading reports, I did not understand just how alarming the situation had become.”
Data? What a brand-new idea. Go on…
“Data now suggest that many changes to school routines are of questionable value in controlling the virus’s spread. Some researchers are skeptical that school closures reduce Covid cases in most instances. Other interventions, like forcing students to sit apart from their friends at lunch, may also have little benefit.”
Leonhardt also found that between lockdowns and remote learning, “children fell far behind in school during the first year of the pandemic and have not caught up.”
But delayed learning may not even be the worst of it. Mental health problems are on the rise; sucide attempts are up, as well; gun violence against children has increased; and disruptive behavior problems are skyrocketing.
Leonhardt shared his article on Twitter, stating “I’m not sure that many people fully grasp the depth of it.”
We do, and we’ve been saying it all along.
American children are starting 2022 in crisis.
I'm not sure that many people fully grasp the depth of it.
— David Leonhardt (@DLeonhardt) January 4, 2022