Online education termed dangerous for mental health of child, reveals US Centers for Disease Control
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared online education ‘dangerous’ for the mental health and wellness of children and parents.
According to a recently published CDC study, children who received online education or a combination of online and in-person education were at increased risk on 11 out of 17 indicators of child and parental well-being. ------------------------------
The CDC study is based on survey responses that were elicited between October and November 2020 from 1,290 parents with children ages 5 to 12 years old.
Around 25% of children who received online education or a combination of online and in-person education reported deteriorated mental and emotional health in comparison to the 16% of children who received only in-person education.
Children who received online education or a combination of online and in-person education were also found to be less physically active as they spent less time in outdoor activities with friends and family.
On the other hand, parents whose children received only online education or a combination of both online and in-person education reported deteriorated mental and emotional health. ------------------------------
Around 54% of parents whose children only online education or a combination of both online and in-person education reported more emotional distress in comparison to the 38% of parents whose children received only in-person education.
Parents whose children received only online education or a combination of both online and in-person education reported 43% more loss of work, concerns over job stability, child care challenges, conflict between working and providing child care, and difficulty sleeping.
Children who are receiving only online education or a combination of both online and in-person education and their parents may experience negative mental, emotional, or physical health outcomes and they may need more support to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CDC has recommended community-wide actions to reduce COVID-19 prevalence and to introduce mitigation strategies to help students return to full time in-person education.
