The impacts on children and adolescents’ quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic (Atena Editora)

Abstract

COVID-19 is an acute respiratory infection caused by a subtype of coronavirus called SARS-CoV2. However, the surprise is that the real impacts of this virus generated a pandemic that changed the way of life of millions of people and affected them differently due to its rapid and easily transmissible form of spread. The objective of this study was to evaluate the social repercussions of the pandemic, but with a focus on the social issues of those who, in the midst of a global crisis, were often neglected: children. As a methodology, we used a theoretical framework compiled from recent databases cataloged in PubMed, Scielo, using keywords: Childhood; Pandemic; COVID-19; children. The results found show that several sectors of human life were affected; particularly at the beginning of the Pandemic, social protocols placed children back into a context in which their individualities were erased, aiming at social isolation as a protective factor against contamination. And that leaves the question: is there room for children on the fine line formed between childhood and pandemic? In times when the unimaginable becomes concrete, childhood is confined in such a way that children's social experiences, psychomotor development and communication skills are harmed. For example, the routines and social experiences previously experienced in the school environment were given up in order to respect social isolation. But this resulted in a significant loss of life for those who play, as they were deprived of the development of skills and experiences that only a utopian world without a pandemic could provide. Thus, in the midst of a global crisis, all communities suffered the action of SARS-CoV-2 in addition to pre-existing social conditions. Furthermore, children are likely to face situations that can interfere with their future lives. According to the Universal Declaration of Children's Rights, principle II, “Every child has the right to special protection for their physical, mental and social development”. In view of this, it can be concluded that in the current scenario, the real practice of this right and proposed children's and youth's standard of living may be weakened because even though it is guaranteed and assured to all, in the pandemic context, priorities were established and the rights of childishness, physical, mental and social development of children and adolescents were compromised.