Job Losses Create ‘Stress, Turmoil’ In Households With Children

NPR: Parents Who've Lost Jobs Struggle To Manage Their Own Stress — And Their Kids' 
"We're seeing skyrocketing rates of job losses and food insecurity and stress," says Anna Johnson, a developmental psychologist at Georgetown University. "I think it will be very hard for these families who've lost income and jobs to get back to where they were. I think there will just be a lot of stress and turmoil in the household for the foreseeable future ... that takes a toll." That toll isn't just on the parents, who're struggling to make ends meet, but also on their children, says Johnson. With stressed-out parents at home, no school to escape to and a lack of in-person interaction with friends, children have fewer ways to cope with their circumstances, says psychologist Archana Basu of the T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health. Neither Basu nor Johnson were involved with the poll. (Chatterjee, 9/30)

North Carolina Health News: Pandemic Increases Hardships On Children 
Child advocates are worried that increased hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic could have long-term negative physical and mental health impacts for kids. In July, 30 percent of North Carolina adults with children reported that they were behind on their rent or mortgage payments and/or they could not afford enough food for their families, according to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. (Knopf, 9/30)

WBUR: Juggling Financial Stress And Caregiving, Parents Are 'Very Not OK' In The Pandemic 
Yates is among the 60% of households with children across the country that have lost jobs, or businesses, or have had wages reduced during the pandemic, according to a poll released Wednesday by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The poll also found 74% of households with children that made less than $100,000 report facing serious financial problems. (Chatterjee, 9/30)