Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
11:50

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Published on: January 7, 2020

26.7K

The Crisis in Children's Mental Health: What About the Babies?

Joyce Harrison1, Emily Aron2, Tessa Chesher3

  • 1The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
|November 4, 2022
PubMed

Insights

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a mental health emergency in children, especially impacting infants and preschoolers. This commentary addresses the psychosocial effects on very young children and families, and proposed solutions.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Child Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • A national mental health emergency in children was declared by leading medical associations.
  • Most attention has focused on older children and adolescents, neglecting the youngest populations.
  • Infants and preschoolers (birth to 5 years) are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19's psychosocial impacts.

Discussion:

  • The commentary examines the specific mental health challenges faced by very young children during the pandemic.
  • It addresses the broader psychosocial effects on families with infants and preschoolers.
  • It highlights the critical need to focus on early childhood mental health interventions.

Key Insights:

  • The pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues in young children, a demographic often overlooked.
  • Family well-being is intrinsically linked to infant and preschooler mental health outcomes.
  • Targeted support for this age group is crucial for mitigating long-term developmental consequences.

Outlook:

  • Continued research is needed to fully understand the long-term effects of the pandemic on early childhood mental health.
  • Developing and implementing specialized interventions for infants and preschoolers is essential.
  • Policy changes and increased funding are required to support early childhood mental health services.

More Related Videos

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale19:15

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

86.2K
A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect05:04

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect

Published on: September 22, 2023

514

Related Concept Videos

Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
90
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
720
Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...
107
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Childhood01:28

Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Childhood

Erik Erikson, a stage theorist, adapted Freud's theory to emphasize social factors in personality development throughout life, a concept known as psychosocial development. Unlike Freud, who focused on early childhood, Erikson believed that personality evolves across eight life stages, each marked by a specific challenge or "crisis." Successful resolution of each stage fosters competence, while failure may lead to feelings of inadequacy.
The first four of Erikson's eight...
174
Specialized Care Centers and Settings-I01:30

Specialized Care Centers and Settings-I

Specialized care settings or centers are situated in convenient locations within the community and offer care to a specific group or population. They consist of daycare facilities, mental health facilities, rural health facilities, educational institutions, industries, shelters for the homeless, and rehabilitation facilities.
Daycare centers
They provide several functions. Some facilities care for healthy newborns and children whose parents work, while others are medically focused and care for...
990
Nightmares and Night Terrors01:18

Nightmares and Night Terrors

Nightmares and night terrors represent two distinct types of sleep disturbances that differ in timing, characteristics, and the sleeper's recall of the event. Nightmares are vivid, disturbing dreams that usually awaken the sleeper from REM sleep, a stage of sleep where brain activity is high, and dreams are most frequent. Upon awakening, individuals often have detailed recollections of their nightmares, which can include themes of threats to survival, security, or self-esteem.
Nightmares...
150