The pandemic has added a great deal of pressure on teen, young kids
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
In addition to the normal issues teenagers face, the pandemic has added an additional layer of stressors and pressure. Area experts weighed in on what they believe are the top issues of young people.
1. Substance use.
“Especially with the media we have now with movies, music, social media, use is glorified,” said Felicia Diaz, addiction counselor for Kids Escaping Drugs Renaissance Campus in West Seneca. “Kids are not always growing up thinking this is wrong, especially when their role models sing about it. It’s important for schools and parents to have honest conversations about drugs and alcohol and how it can impact them, especially when they are young and not fully developed.
2. Peer pressure.
“Kids like to experiment, but it’s scary how easily accessible things are,” Diaz said.
3. Vaping.
“Kids are being conditioned to see that their friends do it and they think, ‘If it’s OK for them, it’s OK for me,’” Diaz said. “Have honest conversations about how these can harm them. Don’t shame them or tell them they will be punished if they have an issue.”
4. Loneliness.
“This triggers a lot of issues like suicide ideation,” said Edward Cichon, director of marketing and communications at Cazenovia Recovery in Buffalo. “The more parents can help kids feel open to healthy relationships, the better.”
5. Bullying.
“Don’t be afraid to have conversations, ask about peer pressure and ask other questions,” said Angela Angora, director of reintegration at Cazenovia Recovery.
6. Alcohol consumption.
“Clear, healthy boundaries are very important,” Angora said. “Individuals in recovery say they don’t want to tell their child to not have a can of beer because at that age they did. It’s important to have clear, healthy boundaries with their children. If the legal age to drink is 21, following that and having the child not drink is a reasonable rule.”
7. Mental health.
“One overriding theme that’s going on that the pandemic has highlighted is the mental health of our teenagers,” said physician Dalinda Condino, division chief of Adolescent Medicine at UBMD Pediatrics and associate professor at Jacobs School of Medicine. “We have had more than 100% increase of new referrals for our eating disorder program. National data shows that just with eating disorders, there are more requests for hospital admission and residential treatment. Family connection is factor for resilience. As a parent, your communication skills need to mature as your child goes from being a child to an adolescent.”
8. Eating disorders.
“There’s an increase among teen girls for eating disorders,” Condino said. “I see kids who are very much struggling with binge eating behavior. The way I look at obesity is at the other end of the spectrum are patients with anorexia. Kids are struggling with access to healthy foods and balance.”
9. Marijuana use.
“It is a common drug kids are using and teens don’t look at it as a problem,” Condino said. “I constantly have discussions. Medical marijuana is medical and not recreational. It is dispensed by someone who knows what they’re getting and what the patient needs.”
10. Sexually transmitted infections.
“Throughout the pandemic, the prevalence of sexually transmissible infections has increased like chlamydia, gonorrhea and in males who have sex with other males, increase of syphilis. We remind parents that teenagers want limit-setting. When we have parents who are absent or overly permissive, the teens struggle. If they’re too authoritarian, the teens struggle. If you’re authoritative in a positive way, kids know what the expectations are. They want some level of expectation. Communication is important. Know your kids’ friends, what goes on in their school.”