Take Care

The past two years have been difficult for everyone, especially children. Beyond causing sickness, the pandemic has triggered uncertainty and loneliness, disrupted social and physical activities, and upended daily routines. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been more than 78 million COVID-19 cases, and more than 926,000 deaths reported in the United States. More than 140,000 children in the United States have lost parents and caregivers to COVID-19.

The findings of two new CDC studies suggest that the ongoing children’s mental health crisisexternal icon has gotten worse during the pandemic. Both studies examined pediatric emergency department (ED) visit data from 2019 through January 2022. One report indicates that, while pediatric ED visits decreased overall, the weekly number and proportion of ED visits increased for certain types of injuries, some chronic diseases, and behavioral health concerns. The other report shows that adolescent females may have experienced the largest overall increase in distress. During these years, the proportion of ED visits for eating disorders doubled and tic disorders more than tripled in this group. Adolescent females also visited the ED more often, for an increasingly wider variety of mental health conditions. Conditions such as these can be triggered by pandemic-related risk factors and made worse by pandemic-related reduced access to mental health care.

While prolonged time at home could increase familial support for some youth, it may have amplified challenges and stressors among other youth. These factors, as well as other pandemic-related stressors, could have created or added risk for mental health conditions and other behavioral health challenges. CDC supports efforts to promote the emotional well-being of children and adolescents by providing tools and resources to help increase access to children’s mental and behavioral health services, and aid families and communities in creating safe, stable, and nurturing environments that help children thrive.

CDC provides resources for adults, too—see Coping with Stress and Care for Yourself. Learning to cope with stress in a healthy way will help you, the people you care about, and those around you become more resilient.