Children’s Health Coalition Statement: "We can’t give up on our kids"

Toronto, May 07, 2021 – We can’t give up on our kids; they need to be at the forefront of the provincial lockdown re-opening plan. Schools – essential to the health, well-being and futures of all children and youth – should be the first doors to re-open and must open before non-essential businesses in regions with lower case counts.

Not returning our kids to in-person learning this year will mean that they will be out of school for five months before they return in September. In places like Thunder Bay, kids have already been out of school since March. The impact of this will be severe for children, youth and their families facing major isolation without access to supports. For those with special needs and disabilities in particular, virtual school does not provide the essential in-person services they receive at school.

At a time when hospitals across the province have been overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases and community transmission has been widespread, we understand that opening schools may be perceived as a risk to the system. However, as cases steadily begin to lower and vaccination rates rise, we must look to save the school year and get kids back to school for in-person learning.

Hospitals and community child and youth mental health centres are seeing unprecedented numbers of children and youth presenting with serious and much more severe mental illness including suicidality, eating disorders, self-harm and intentional overdoses.

To support the mental wellness of all kids, the most critical thing we can do is to get them back to in-person learning and normal routines as soon as it is safe to do so. There is no amount of mental health treatment that can replace the value of in-person learning as an antidote to the social isolation and distress facing families. The negative impacts of long-term school closures are even more profound for Black, Indigenous and racialized Ontarians. The school year simply shouldn’t be written off.

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About the Children's Health Coalition

The Children's Health Coalition is a growing collective of children's health organizations, including CHEO, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, SickKids, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Mental Health Ontario and Empowered Kids Ontario.