Though the physical effects of COVID-19 have generally not been as severe for most children compared to adults, the mental health impacts of the pandemic are just as severe.
In order to get a better understanding of how both parents and children have adapted and coped with these changes,

Highland surveyed nearly 1,000 parents across the country with children in grades K-8 on topics related to virtual learning, socialization and their child’s health during the pandemic.

Highlights: 

• 72% of parents believe virtual learning is putting their child behind academically.
• 68% of parents feel safe with their child returning to in-person learning.
• 35% of parents say they could not mentally cope with another year of virtual learning.
• Biggest challenges parents face with virtual learning:
  • 1. Child not paying attention
  • 2. Limited contact with classmates
  • 3. Communicating questions to teacher
  • 4. Child not sitting still 5. Tech issues.
• 45% of parents fear that these mental health and behavior changes brought on by the pandemic are irreversible. 

Parents have also felt the impact of virtual learning. According to our survey, 79% of parents say their child has experienced tech-related issues during virtual learning. Overall, parents are spending roughly 2.7 hours per school day assisting their children with those issues. Along with technical issues, parents cited issues such as keeping their child engaged during virtual learning (68%), limited contact with other classmates (42%) and difficulties with communicating questions to their teacher (34%) as the top challenges with virtual learning.

We’ve barely scratched the surface of the pandemics’ impact on the well-being of our children. Parents, teachers, community leaders, and health care workers will be learning together over the coming years just how significant and lasting the impact will be.