MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-04-22 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Spains children
|
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/18/world/europe/spain-children-lockdown-coronavirus.html
Elian PeltierRaphael Minder
By Elian Peltier and Raphael Minder
April 18, 2020
BARCELONA, Spain — For five weeks, Lia Aparicio Cenador hasn’t been
outside once.
“I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be on a street,” said Lia, a
9-year-old girl.
Millions of children in Spain, stuck at home since the authorities
implemented a nationwide lockdown in mid-March, have been unable to
exercise outside, take a short walk around their block, go with their
parents to the supermarket or leave their house except for medical reasons.
Such measures, the strictest in Europe, have left countless children
bored, exhausted and sometimes depressed.
As Spanish authorities have extended the lockdown into May, calls to
ease confinement rules for children have recently intensified, as many
parents and health specialists raise the alarm over the long-term
consequences confinement will have on their physical and mental health.
Even in most of Italy, the worst hit country on the continent in terms
of number of deaths, parents can take their children out for a short walk.
“Parents can be angry,” said Diego Figuera, a psychiatrist at the San
Carlos hospital in Madrid who works with children. “How do you explain
to them that you can take your dog out, but not your child?”
Mr. Figuera said that public health experts and epidemiologists had
advised Spain’s health ministry to confine children at the onset of the
crisis because they were concerned that children could pass the virus to
older people.
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This week, Spain, which has reported over 20,000 deaths from the virus,
began easing some aspects of its lockdown, allowing construction sites
and factories to reopen. Public transportation in large cities like
Madrid or Barcelona has grown a little busier, but the sight of parents
pushing strollers or holding a child’s hand has yet to return.
On Saturday, Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s prime minister, said that some
children will be able to go outside after April 27, as he announced
another extension of the lockdown until May 9. Mr. Sánchez didn’t
specify what exact leeway children would receive to step outdoors, but
he suggested it would likely apply for those up to the age of 12. Mr.
Sánchez’s announcement came amid mounting criticism from parents and
health specialists, backed by some regional politicians, who have all
warned that keeping children strictly indoors could harm their mental
and physical health.
ImageAn empty playground in Barcelona. Millions of children in Spain
have been stuck at home in a nationwide lockdown since mid-March.
An empty playground in Barcelona. Millions of children in Spain have
been stuck at home in a nationwide lockdown since
mid-March.Credit...Samuel Aranda for The New York Times
Alejandra Raventós, a psychologist and the director of the Anne
Foundation, a nonprofit that helps disadvantaged children, said she had
been “angered and shocked” at the lack of consideration given to
children’s well-being when the lockdown was implemented in mid-March.
As a mother of three and through her work at the Anne Foundation, Ms.
Raventós said she was witnessing difficulties among some children, from
nutrition to sleeping problems, as well as strong mood swings. For
others, Ms. Raventós said, the “big risk is that boredom turns into
complete apathy,” particularly given the lack of physical movement and
variety in their activities.
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