Nearly two-and-a-half years after COVID-19 first took the U.S. by storm, parents and doctors are speaking out on the devastating effects that the school shutdowns and mandates continue to have on children, including a relentless mental health crisis.
"What I'm seeing happening – particularly with younger kids – is social delays, communication issues…" family therapist Tom Kersting told "Fox & Friends First" Tuesday.
"The biggest thing I've seen with teenagers is a rise in anxiety disorders," he added. Kersting said shutting children and teens out of society for more than two years is behind the decline.
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"[They've] been in their bedrooms, on their phones, and away from any human connection and the real world out there… their brain no longer assimilates to that… If you're not out there socializing and being a human being, your brain is going to send anxiety and stress signals," he said.
Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann, a pediatrician, told host Todd Piro that the U.S. has seen a "tragic" increase in mental health issues among children and teens since the dawn of the pandemic, including in-patient psychiatric treatments.
"We saw this through COVID, and the ramifications continue," she said. "Anxiety, depression, self-harm eating disorders, all of that started during the COVID lockdowns, and we're still seeing those children trying to recover."
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Berchelmann also lamented the ongoing struggle for children to schedule appointments with mental health professionals due to longer wait times.
Talibah Hicks, a single mom who fled New York City because of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, also shared her children's experiences with virtual learning, COVID-19 lockdowns and mandates, saying the vaccine mandate prevented one of her sons from playing sports and said the transition to remote learning prevented her other son from receiving the education he deserved.