The pandemic is a turning point, it has shaken the everyday lives of many children and young people.

Classes became young lone fighters in distance lessons, you could no longer meet with friends from the football club, let alone kick balls, the fear of infecting yourself or relatives was just as omnipresent as the worries of parents, who in the best case only worked from home and Had to reconcile homeschooling, but feared for their professional future in an emergency. 

Monika Ganster

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Every third child showed mental abnormalities during the pandemic, found the COPSY study, which was carried out at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf. These findings were confirmed by experts at a "round table" to which the State Medical Association of Hesse had invited to look for ways out of this crisis. 


Pediatricians are often the first point of contact for children with sleep problems, eating disorders or unclear pain symptoms, says Ralf Moebus, pediatrician in Bad Homburg. Then the physicians would have to play the role of educators who would first have to make the parents aware of the burden on the children.

"The symptoms are more pronounced than before Corona," said Martina Pitzer, director of the Vitosklinik Rheinhöhe in Eltville.

Among other things, patients with eating disorders are treated there.

"Many are massively underweight and in very poor condition," reports the youth psychiatrist.

Depressive symptoms are also more pronounced than before. 

Crisis turns into consulting crisis

Nevertheless, two thirds of young people will probably get through the pandemic without harm, predicts the Federal Institute for Population Research. Most of them are those who receive support at home, who know their self-worth and have no material worries, who have contact persons and places to retreat. But she probably already had the third that is struggling with problems before, emphasizes Pitzer. The pandemic works like a burning glass, it focuses the view on those hurdles that these young people already faced. 

"We are dealing with families here who are unable to perceive their children's problems," says Daniel Schröder, regional director of the children's project "Die Arche" in Frankfurt, describing his experiences.

The wish that everything has to run smoothly, that one shouldn't be naked in front of school, prevents the children from being helped.

And if the families did become aware of a problem, they would not know who to get help from, which doctor or which counseling center would be responsible. 

From this point of view, the crisis turns into a counseling crisis, primarily for the parents, who need to be reached.

When asked about wishes for the future, Schröder hopes for more outreach social work, already in daycare centers and after-school care centers. 

Lack of social workers

However, according to the experts, there is also a lack of staff in schools who can take care of conspicuous pupils. While teachers are already more than busy with their tasks, school psychologists and school social workers are more likely to take care of such children. “But there isn't even a social worker for every school in Hessen,” complained Volkmar Heitmann, chairman of the state parents' council in Hessen.

What can help children and young people in such times? The first step could be a fixed daily structure, said Schröder. The “Arche”, a Christian children's and youth organization, has set up learning tandems with adults in the home office via a video platform in order to motivate schoolchildren. Instead of sleeping in until 2 p.m., regular practice at 10 a.m. was the order of the day. The success was a clearly better grade on the certificate, says Schröder. Because parents who cannot work in the home office themselves and have to leave their children alone with distance learning, were often overwhelmed with the task. Parents should also pay attention to whether children are very withdrawn, whether social contacts only take place online, recommended pediatrician Ralf Moebus. 

But in the end it is not just psychological stress that has a physical effect, emphasized Peter Zürner, member of the Presidium of the State Medical Association of Hesse.

Because a lack of exercise paired with often poor nutrition in Corona times and long times only on the smartphone or on the computer will probably pose completely different problems for this young generation in the medium term.