New Jersey 101.5 (March 30, 2021) covering the “pandemic wall” and its psychological effect on children as they adjust to virtual learning due to the COVID Pandemic.
It’s been over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began and kids are hitting a breaking point that many developmental psychologists have coined “the pandemic wall.”
The pandemic wall refers to cognitive overload, said Jaime Arlia, vice president of Children and Family Services at Care Plus NJ. Kids have hit the point where their bodies and brains just can’t take it anymore. They’re exhausted and worn out. They’re taking the brunt of this because their capacities were limited as it was, she said.
Pediatric emergency room visits for Behavioral Health have increased sharply, with the CDC reporting a 31% increase in visits for children between ages 12 and 17 from March to October when compared to the same period in 2019. There was also a 24% hike in psychiatric emergency room visits for kids between ages 5 and 11 over the same time frame.
The pandemic wall can lead to loss of interest. Kids are tired of doing school online and they’re tired of not seeing their friends. They feel like they don’t have any control because no matter what they do, how good they are, how much they comply, do their homework and log into school on time, they’re just not getting the reward that they usually are getting such as playing outside or spending time with friends, she added.
