Local daycare owner sees impact of pandemic on children

At Guardian Angels Home Daycare, owner Felicia Craig-Knight does what she can to keep the children happy and healthy as experts grow increasingly concerned about the mental health consequences of COVID-19 restrictions.

Craig-Knight has operated the Calumet City-based Guardian Angels for 14 years. The childcare provider recently told The Suburban Marquee that she has witnessed ways children struggling with social, emotional and general well-being during the pandemic. She works with children from infants to age 12 and said that the older children struggle the most.

"The babies were OK. The toddlers/preschoolers had a hard time with keeping the masks on and keeping their distance from their friends," she said. "School-age children coped a little better with the mask, but not social distances."

Craig-Knight also had her business impacted.

COVID-19 forced Guardian Angels to shut down for three months. Once it could reopen, it was at 50% capacity to provide child care for essential workers, she said.

While dealing with lost income, she was pushed to the front line of the problems that arose with distance learning and assisted the older children in her care with their schoolwork.

"E-learning was a challenge for them and me," she said. "It was hard for them to stay focused and sit in front of a computer for six hours — as well as for me to keep an eye on them to make sure they are doing their work and staying awake."

Craig-Knight and her charges also had to adapt how they went about their days, with added procedures and steps they had to go through before the day even started.

"I also had to make up a checklist which I have to follow to make sure the kids are OK — take temps, ask if they have any symptoms — for them and the parents," she said. "I had to set up a station in my garage."

The Psychiatric Times looked into a variety of studies on the impact of the pandemic and related restrictions. It found that children are getting hit from all sides, between their social isolation and awareness of the stresses faced by parents and guardians.

Studies have also found that children are impacted by worries over family and friends' well-being in the midst of the pandemic, according to the Psychiatric Times.

With all that to consider, the Mayo Clinic suggested several ways to help children cope with the mental stresses of the pandemic, from ensuring they still have contact of some sort with friends to allowing them to talk about their concerns and worries, or even adopting a pet to help keep them company.