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Canadian children face an ongoing mental health crisis during COVID-19.
The harm to children is such that a new campaign called #CodePink is underway to get governments to act immediately.
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Code Pink is the term used to declare a pediatric emergency exactly the current state of affairs in this country, with children’s hospitals reporting a 100% increase in suicide attempt admissions, a 200% jump in substance abuse disorder admissions, and a sharp rise in rates of child abuse. There also has been a disturbing increase in cases of infants with fractures and head trauma, for example, since September 2020.
OTTAWA Canada s top children s hospitals, including CHEO, are declaring a mental health emergency among children and youth as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on. School closures, the lack of access to sports and recreational programs, and social isolation have resulted in children being one of the hardest hit populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, a release said. Advocates describe what they call staggering numbers of increases to suicide attempts and substance-use disorder admissions. Suicide attempt admissions have increased by 100 per cent on average during the pandemic, the release says. Admissions for substance-use disorders have increased by 200 per cent. It goes on to say that 70 per cent of children ages 6 to 18 have said the pandemic has harmed their mental health.