While the virus itself is not a top concern overall, impacts of COVID-19, including screen time and mental health, rate highly
TUESDAY, Dec. 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Parents’ biggest concerns are not with COVID-19 itself, but rather with the impacts of the pandemic, according to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.
The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health is conducted by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The survey, administered in August 2020, included parents from 2,027 randomly selected households with at least one child younger than 18 years old living in the home.
The survey found that the 2020 top child health concerns include: overuse of social media/screen time (72 percent), bullying/cyberbullying (62 percent), internet safety (62 percent), unhealthy eating (59 percent), depression/suicide (54 percent), lack of physical activity (54 percent), stress/anxiety (54 percent), smoking/vaping (52 percent), drinking or using drugs (50 percent), and COVID-19 (48 percent). There were differences by race, with White parents most often ranking bullying/cyberbullying and internet safety as top concerns, while Black parents rate racism and COVID-19 as their top concerns.
“Parents’ biggest concerns for young people seem to be associated with changes in lifestyle as a result of the pandemic,” Gary Freed, M.D., codirector of the Mott Poll, said in a statement. “COVID-19 has turned the world of our children and teens upside down in many ways and this is reflected in how parents rate health issues in 2020.”
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