COVID-19 has affected everyone, including children, because they are behind their lectures due to the closure of schools. However, schools found a way for children to cope up, and that is to provide online teaching programs to students so that they can get busy while doing social distancing.
The problem now is that children from low-income households are suffering because not all of them have the needed resources to be able to follow on with the trend.
Nearly 40 million are living in poverty
The US Census Bureau estimates that almost 40 million Americans are living in poverty. According to three pediatricians from John Hopkins Children's Center and Children's National Hospital, the hardest hit in that population are the children from low-income families.
Apart from experiencing significant disruptions in already inconsistent routines, these children also have inadequate resources critical to their learning, nutrition, and social development due to the restrictions mandated by the law to prevent the further spread of the virus.
One in five children in the US are from a low-income household
In the May 13 issue of JAMA Pediatrics, physicians provided examples of how efforts in controlling COVID-19 have disproportionately affected almost one in five children in the US who belong to families with an income below the poverty level in a viewpoint article.
Assistant medical director at the Harriet Lane Clinic of Johns Hopkins Children's Center and assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Megan Tschudy, MD, MPH, said that many school districts are practicing distance learning. Still, rural and urban students have wide variability in access to quality educational instruction, digital technology, and internet service.
She also said that at least one-third of the students in some urban areas do not engage in online classes due to the challenges of accessing the internet.
The authors mentioned how the policies and regulations imposed due to COVID-19 have greatly affected children from low-income households. The effects are chronic absenteeism because the students are missing months of school, are unable to receive nutritious meals that were previously provided by the school before and within the school hours and removal of key resources available at schools.
These vital resources are consistent and caring adults who offer holistic support and help build resilience to the children.
Legislation should target child health and well-being
The authors of the article recommend that future COVID-19 legislation should focus on child health and well-being on countering the increased disproportion brought about by the health crisis and to help those children who belong to low-income households.
It would be helpful to include expanding services, increasing funds for health and nutrition assistance programs, and improving child tax credits, expanding access to high-speed internet. Versatile electronic devices so that children of any family could engage in distance learning.
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