Children’s ability to have fun with friends worsened in 42% of cases.
Rita F. Batista 01:30
One in five children felt sadness and loneliness
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of families in 17 European countries, including Portugal, felt a general worsening of the well-being of their children (6 to 10 years old), with sadness and loneliness affecting one in every five children, concludes a study by the World Health Organization, coordinated by the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge.
For parents, their children’s ability to have fun with friends worsened in 42% of cases, with 27% reporting that there was a loss of ability to “enjoy activities in their free time” or have “time for themselves” (19%) .
In Portugal, regarding food, among 5139 children (aged 6 to 8), families reported an increase in the consumption of sweets (19.4%) and savory snacks (13.8%). There was an increase in the consumption of fruit (11.9%) and vegetables (7.1%), especially in the Algarve. The study also reveals that almost half of the children spent more time in front of the television or computer. There was also a worsening of the difficulty among families (11.4%) in reaching the end of the month without major financial problems.Between 2020 and 2022, 55.3% of Portuguese children tested positive for Covid-19 and were in isolation.
