Children and COVID-19 Research Library

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, preliminary research has reported a significant decline in physical activity (PA) and an increase in sedentary behaviour (SB) among typically developed children and adolescents. Limited research has looked at the current situation of PA and SB during this pandemic among children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID). This study investigated the situations about PA and SB among school-aged children and adolescents with ID on China's mainland during the COVID-19 outbreak. In total, 837 parents of children and adolescents (ages 6–18 years) with ID from 15 special education schools of Shandong Province in China were recruited through convenience sampling in the study. Parents reported PA and SB among children and adolescents with ID through the Children's Leisure Activities Study Survey-Chinese version (CLASS-C) online questionnaires.

This mixed-methods exploratory study sought to address the experiences of 89 adoptive parents (heterosexual, lesbian, and gay) in the United States with school-age children in relation to the transition to remote schooling and their children's mental health during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition to remote schooling and associated confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges for families, particularly when children are struggling with mental health and learning challenges. Data were collected via an online survey between May and June 2020. Before the pandemic, almost half of the children received special education services.

Ongoing masking of K-12 children has not been universally accepted despite recommendation from public health authorities. In states without universal mask mandates for schools, district administrators are forced to make masking decisions under significant local political pressures. There is a call for endpoints to masking to allow communities to tailor mitigation while keeping schools safe, focusing on harm reduction. This study reviewed existing measures for the safe opening of schools and designed a stepwise, accessible approach to the removal of masks in the K-12 setting.

As a result of COVID-19 and associated lockdown restrictions, children may have been exposed to more home-based alcohol consumption and parents' drinking practices. This paper explores Australian parents' perceptions of their children's awareness of drinking and their reflections on the impact of COVID-19 on children's exposure and acquisition of alcohol-related knowledge. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 30 parents and carers of children aged four to 12 years from across Australia. Participants described their family lives, the role of alcohol, any changes in alcohol and family dynamics experienced because of COVID-19 and their children's exposure and knowledge of alcohol before and during their experience of COVID-19. Using social learning theory as a guiding framework, transcripts were analysed to identify relevant themes.

This study examines the relationship between telecommuting and gender inequalities in parents' time use at home and on the job before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telecommuting is a potential strategy for addressing the competing demands of work and home and the gendered ways in which they play out. Limited evidence is mixed, however, on the implications of telecommuting for mothers' and fathers' time in paid and unpaid work. The massive increase in telecommuting due to COVID-19 underscores the critical need to address this gap in the literature.

This paper aims to evaluate clinicians’ perspectives on the impact of “lockdown” during the COVID-19 pandemic for children and young people with severe physical neurodisability and their families. Framework analysis of comments from families during a recent service review was used to code the themes discussed according to the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and interpreted into emergent themes to summarise the impact of lockdown (Stage 1). They were presented to a clinician focus group for discussion (consultants and physiotherapists working in a specialist motor disorders service, [Stage 2]).