Reuters also wrote an article about this statement, also without mentioning the specific consequences. I suspect he didn't name them, but NPR has discussed the

Reuters also wrote an article about this statement, also without mentioning the specific consequences. I suspect he didn't name them, but NPR has discussed the consequences before with other experts. Dr. Dimitri Christakis, who directs the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children's Hospital, and is the editor-in-chief of JAMA Pediatrics, shared concerns about abuse and about children's mental health: > Mental health and social-emotional development, Christakis argues, have been less discussed: "The social-emotional needs of children to connect with other children in real time and space, whether it's for physical activity, unstructured play or structured play, this is immensely important for young children in particular." A new study in JAMA Pediatrics, he says, documents elevated depression and anxiety among children under lockdown in China. > A third major risk, says Christakis, is child abuse. With schools closed and activities canceled, adults who are mandatory reporters, such as teachers, are less likely to catch wind of abuse or neglect. Hospitals around the country are reporting a rise in admissions for severe child abuse injuries and even deaths — a rise that coincides with lockdown orders. And a sex-abuse hotline operated by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network reported that half its calls in March came from minors, for the first time in its history. https://www.npr.org/2020/05/14/855641420/with-school-buildings-closed-children-s-mental-health-is-suffering https://www.npr.org/2020/05/14/855641420/with-school-buildin... And in another article, a former Secretary of Education also shared his concern that not all homes are safe: > I'm heartbroken about the kids for whom school is the place that provides structure and support and a sense of security that don't have that. I mean, for me, as a kid, after my mom passed when I was 8, I lived with my dad. My dad had an undiagnosed Alzheimer's, and so home was this place that was scary and unpredictable and unsafe. But school is the place that was reliable and consistent, where I had positive relationships with adults and peers. And I wouldn't be alive today without those school experiences. > And I worry about the kids who are in homes where there is abuse, where there is addiction, where family members - as you say - have lost jobs, where family members are sick or passed away. https://www.npr.org/2020/04/24/844562989/the-long-term-effects-of-months-long-school-closures-on-u-s-children https://www.npr.org/2020/04/24/844562989/the-long-term-effec...