Children and COVID-19 Research Library

Almost half of exposures reported to United States (US) poison centers are exploratory ingestions in children under the age of 5 years. Pediatric cannabis exposures reported to US poison centers have risen over the last twenty years, with greater increases in the last 5 years. In 2020, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in widespread stay-at-home orders and subsequent changes in work, education, and daycare. This study describes the changes in pediatric cannabis exposures during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic relative to the three years before the pandemic.

Young children aged birth to 5 years are known users of the internet, both unsupervised and in collaboration with adults. Adults also use the internet to share details of children’s lives with others, via sharenting and educational apps. During COVID-19 internet use by children and families rose significantly during periods of enforced stay-home. Internet use by children, and by adults on behalf exposes children to conduct, contact and content risks online. These risks mean that cyber-safety in the early years is increasingly necessary, especially concerning increased internet usage during COVID-19. While cyber-safety is well developed for primary and secondary-school aged children this is not the case for young children, their families and educators. This paper proposes a research agenda for cyber-safety in the early years, using critical constructivism and internet studies to define the internet as a non-unitary technology. Three main objects of study concerning cyber-safety in the early years, including the reference to COVID-19 are identified for targeted research, including: technologies, context and policy.

Since December 2019, countries around the world have borne the impact of a virus that has altered the way that we do business, interact socially and receive our education. While COVID-19 has had a detrimental impact upon the world, it has also lead to a more in-depth look at the education of our children from elementary school up to secondary school. Cybersecurity is an issue for everyone, but children are a particularly vulnerable population because many are raised playing with a cellphone or a tablet and have not truly learned about the dangers involved with accessing the Internet. Instead, it’s a play area for children as they watch YouTube videos or even access social media with or without their parent’s consent.