Urgent work is needed now to protect the mental health of children in New Zealand in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
That’s the message from the Children’s Commissioner, Judge Frances Eivers, following the release of the Government’s first statutory report into child and youth wellbeing.
It has found that the number of children reporting instances of psychological distress has increased in recent years, which is linked to the Covid pandemic.
Eivers says she’s personally been concerned about the issue, especially considering the report doesn’t take into account the second lockdown, which lasted for more than three months in Auckland.
“Schools worked really hard to get tablets out to their students and keep them connected. But that was difficult for young people, they’re naturally wired to be together,” she told Breakfast.
“It was what needed to happen but what we need to do now is acknowledge that and work really hard because unless we do, that’s going to have impacts further down the track.”
Meanwhile, the report also shows that 11% of children are still living in households experiencing material hardship.
This number has increased for Māori and Pasifika kids, as well as for those with disabilities.
“When you think that approximately a quarter of our population are children, those statistics are amplified,” says Eivers.
“None of us want to know that any child is living in poverty.”
Meanwhile, there are some promising figures in the report.
In the past three years there has been a 25% reduction in children’s living in households where food sometimes or often runs out and a 30% drop in the number of children who live in low-income households after housing costs have been factored in.
The past year has also seen a 10% drop in offending rates across all young people, with 15% fewer Māori and 41% fewer Pasifika offenders.
Eivers believes the key to helping our children, especially Māori and Pasifika, is to empower them.
“We need to give them hope that even though today is a tough day, tomorrow the sun will shine again.
“How we get that message across, I’m not sure. There’s so much work to do across the motu.”
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