PARIS (AP) — Doctors say the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of children is alarming and plain to see. France’s busiest pediatric hospital has seen a doubling in the number of children and young teenagers requiring treatment after attempted suicides. Doctors elsewhere report similar surges, with children — some as young as 8 — deliberately running into traffic, overdosing on pills and otherwise self-harming. In Japan, child and adolescent suicides hit record levels in 2020. Pediatric psychiatrists say they’re also seeing children with coronavirus-related phobias, tics and eating disorders. Some are obsessing about infection, scrubbing their hands raw and covering their bodies with disinfectant gel. One doctor says “the crisis affects all of us, from age 2 to 99.”
Photo: FILE- In this Sept. 2, 2020 file photo, parents bring their children to participate in an outdoor learning demonstration to display methods schools can use to continue on-site education during the coronavirus pandemic, at P.S. 15 in Brooklyn, New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
