Mental Health and Our Children During the Pandemic

Michelle — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 16:19:35 +0000

Mental Health and Our Children During the Pandemic

Michelle Tue, 10/13/2020 - 09:19

by Sharon Bacharach

Sharon Bacharach

Instructor

Graduate Center for Jewish Education

Early Childhood Education

Summary

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I have participated in many conversations about how children are doing academically with distanced learning, or how they are doing socially, since they are isolated from playing with friends as they usually do. However, what about children’s mental health? How are young children, as well as older children, doing psychologically amidst the pandemic? According to a recent study published in Pediatrics, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 27% of parents reported an increase in their own mental health difficulties and 14% reported an increase of difficulties for their children (Patrick et al., 2020).

It's not surprising some of the major stressors for our children right now are the physical health of themselves and their families, adjusting to distanced learning, social isolation, and worrying about their parents' jobs. For the younger children, some may have returned to school and therefore we may see some challenging behaviors in response to them feeling confused and scared. They were home, isolated for many months, then returned to school. A child’s response is usually related to the stress level of their parents and teachers. Older children, who are continuing with distanced learning may continue to feel isolated and frustrated. When children have emotional challenges, this can affect their ability to learn (Basu, 2020).

What Can We Do As Parents and Educators to Help Our Children?

The most important feeling we can give children is safety. We need to answer their questions in an age-appropriate manner and be specific on all we're doing together to keep each other safe. If you are a parent and have concerns about your child, contacting your doctor, school counselor or psychologist, is good first step. One of the challenges as a teacher engaging in distanced learning is feeling connected to our students. Teachers should intentionally incorporate opportunities to connect during class time. Planning time for children to share thoughts with each other can be enjoyable and provides connection. It also may be beneficial to check in with students separately to be able to identify specific concerns. Below are some resources specifically to help families during COVID:

National Association of School Psychologists: Helping Children Cope with Changes Resulting From Covid-19
First 5 LA: Covd-19 Resources & Tips for Families with Young Children
UCLA Health: Covid-19 Resources

References:

Basu, A. (2020) Kids may face mental health issues as school beings amid pandemic, News: Harvard TH.Chan, School of Public Health. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/kids-may-face-mental-health-issues-as-school-begins-amid-pandemic/

Patrick, S. W., Henkhaus, L. E., Zickafoose, J. S., Lovell, K., Halvorson, A., Loch, S., Letterie, M. & Davis, M. M. (2020) Well-being of parents and children during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national survey. Pediatrics, 146 (4). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-016824

Mental Health

Pandemic

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Le-Hayim: Jewish Wisdom for a Time of Pandemic

Michelle — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 19:22:18 +0000

Le-Hayim: Jewish Wisdom for a Time of Pandemic

Michelle Fri, 03/13/2020 - 12:22

by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson

Abner & Roslyn Goldstine Dean’s Chair

Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies

Vice President, ��ý

Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson (www.bradartson.com) has long been a passionate advocate for social justice, human dignity, diversity and inclusion. He wrote a book on Jewish teachings on war, peace and nuclear annihilation in the late 80s, became a leading voice advocating for GLBT marriage and ordination in the 90s, and has published and spoken widely on environmental ethics, special needs inclusion, racial and economic justice, cultural and religious dialogue and cooperation, and working for a just and secure peace for Israel and the Middle East. He is particularly interested in theology, ethics, and the integration of science and religion. He supervises the Miller Introduction to Judaism Program and mentors Camp Ramah in California in Ojai and Ramah of Northern California in the Bay Area. He is also dean of the Zacharias Frankel College in Potsdam, Germany, ordaining Conservative rabbis for Europe. A frequent contributor for the Huffington Post and for the Times of Israel, and a public figure Facebook page with over 60,000 likes, he is the author of 12 books and over 250 articles, most recently Renewing the Process of Creation: A Jewish Integration of Science and Spirit. Married to Elana Artson, they are the proud parents of twins, Jacob and Shira. Learn more infomation about Rabbi Artson.

Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies

Contemporary Issues

Summary

As published in the Jewish Journal: https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/opinion/312306/jewish-wisdom-for-a-time-of-pandemic/

The Coronavirus is now officially a world-wide pandemic. As I write these words, there are about 130,000 confirmed cases, of whom some 5,000 have died, another 6,000 are considered serious, and about 70,000 people have recovered. 116 countries have been infected (out of a global total of 195). By the time you read these words, it is probably that the numbers will have risen...

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As published in the Jewish Journal: https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/opinion/312306/jewish-wisdom-for-a-time-of-pandemic/.

Some people are responding with a level of panic rarely encountered, while others brush off this pandemic as if already under control. Both responses fail because they see our duty as isolated and individual: as if it’s all about keeping me safe and distracted, regardless of its human cost or global impact. This isolated individual is a biological lie and a cultural dead end. We are ourselves only in relationship to each other and to all creation.

We are taught (Exodus 19:2 and Rashi) that the reason the Torah was given at the foot of Sinai is that at that particular moment, in that particular spot, the Children of Israel came together as one. Transcending their fragmentation and disputes, they circled that mountain united in hope and possibility. It was precisely because we were, for that instant, one united camp, that the One God would be heard.

This moment also calls us to form a united camp: not only the Jewish people, but all humanity coming together in the only kind of cosmopolitan universalism that counts: an affirmation of life, of caring, and of hope.

Bein Adam Le-Havero: Our Responsibility to Sustain Each Other

Finding the Derekh ha-Beinoni, the Middle Path to steer us between the crashing waves of hysteria and panic on the one hand, and the battering rocks of denial and avoidance on the other will require determination and resolve. “We will hear and we will do (Exodus 24:3)” must become the mantra of this season. While it may be tempting to do nothing and to pretend that nothing has changed, we must mobilize the courage to first listen to the health experts and to then transform their guidance into government policy and personal practice.

Each of us must find the inner strength to be Nachshon, the brave Israelite willing to plunge into the Sea so it could part and allow the Children of Israel to pass to freedom. By daring to change our ways, we can take on a life of service for the sake of human health.

In that spirit, we must curtail our exposure to large crowds and to the possibility of infection. The Coronavirus is the new reality, and it won’t go away. But limiting the range of its contagion and slowing its spread will literally create the difference between life and death for many of our vulnerable beloveds (older people, immunologically compromised people, and others). Jewish tradition teaches that love (hesed) is not merely an inner emotion, it is a way of behaving to others that makes the love manifest. We owe these dear ones our compassionate acts of self-restraint and responsibility: repeated hand washing with soap, avoiding touching our faces, greeting others with a wave or smile instead of handshaking or hugging, heightened levels of sanitation at work and in public places, alternatives to public assemblies, staying home when sick or exposed. Our choices can literally redeem the world.

Bein Adam Le-Atzmo: Responsibility to Self-Care

It is not enough to change behavior and to enact policies to care for each other if we don’t also find better ways to care for ourselves. Humans begin to shrivel without contact with each other and without access to the joys of life. In excessive isolation we risk pandemics of the soul.

We must find ways to reach out to each other, to give and receive love and care so that we are nourished for the task ahead. The Biblical image of receiving manna each and every day, and of having to move our bodies to harvest this physical manifestation of love can inspire us through this wilderness as well. Let’s use this time to strengthen whatever daily practice inspires and sustains us: daily prayer, psalms, meditation, exercise, a stroll, good fiction, poetry. Making time for inner renewal and physical vitality will be crucial in the stressful days and weeks to come.

That self- care itself has to keep the limits of our increased isolation permeable and flexible. Connecting to those we love through calls, texts, shared meals (Shabbat, anyone?), streamed movies with family or friends, will keep us alive. These occasions of relating strengthen us for the tasks we face and remind us that this, too, is life. Judaism’s most beloved prayer, the Shehechiyanu, locates God as the one who enlivens us, sustains us, and brings us to this moment. Life is precious and invites celebration.

Judaism creates a calendar filled with opportunities for mindful joy, communal gathering, and celebration. Being more attentive doesn’t require that we stop relating to each other and connecting. We just need to be more creative in making sure that we get what we need.

This pandemic will pass, creating a new normal in its wake. How we respond, supporting the scientists and their research to develop a vaccine, how we modify our behavior to limit the spread of the virus and to dampen its consequences, and how we find ways to feed our souls and to care for each other, these are the challenges and possibilities of this moment.

We do not venture into this fray alone. We walk with each other, carrying a Torah of wisdom and bearing the Divine image that allowed our ancestors to proceed forward to Promise. That Promise beckons us as well. Let’s journey together!

Rabbi Dr. Bradley Shavit Artson holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean’s Chair, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of ��ý.

Pandemic

Wisdom

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