TOPIC: The COVID-19 Pandemic and its Mental Health Impact on Children and Adolescents.
This issue has been on my mind since the start of the pandemic last year. When the stay-at-home orders were issued at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it took a toil on me mentally. I just could not process the fact that in such a short space of time our lives had completely changed. So much of our lives were changing; we now had to work from home and be fulltime caretakers for our kids, we had to be fulltime tutors and help with online assignments – I was complete burned out. During this time, my kids seemed to adapt very well to the change, but I often worried that their lack of social interaction with friends and other family members would impact them mentally. I worried about them not being able to have that outdoor time that we had incorporated into our daily schedule. They were not able to go to the neighborhood playgrounds, museums or their favorite restaurant as everything was closed. Their lives had completely changed. This had me very worried about the mental health impact that the COVID-19 pandemic can have on my kids and also children all over.
By researching this topic, I was hoping to find out whether the COVID-19 Pandemic has indeed affected kids’ mental health and if it has, to what extent. I also wanted to find out how parents or caretakers can identify the symptoms associated with stress and anxiety in children and adolescents. I was interested in finding out what parents and other families can do to help reduce or eliminate the stress and anxiety that their children could possibly be experiencing. The information obtained was extremely helpful to me as a parent and I hope that I can reach out to other parents by writing a newspaper article. I would like other parents and caregivers like myself to read this article and hopefully find this information useful especially the families that are going through a rough time during this pandemic. I would like my article to be published in a popular newspaper such as The New York Times for example. I will use research studies and surveys which will provide my readers with statistics that will help prove my arguments. I will also use statements from psychologist which I know will help many families that are not able to access proper mental health services right now. A particularly important factor for my newspaper article is that I have a bold and catchy headline as to capture my readers attention to this especially important issue. I choose to do a newspaper article because most newspapers now are available both in print and online and this ensures that I reach more of my target audience. Initially, I wanted to write a press release, but I opt for the newspaper article instead as I think I can bring more creativity to a newspaper article than I would with a press release. I am glad and satisfied with that choice.
My first challenge was choosing the right newspaper format; I had a hard time deciding whether I should add pictures and If I do, how many I should add. I wanted to make sure that the heading for my article was eye-catching and appropriate for my topic, so It took me some time to come up with the right one. My focus was making sure I added as much information as possible and the important details that will help educate my readers about my topic.
I think my newspaper article turned out great. I had gathered all my information and evidence through my sources, so this made it easy to just apply to my newspaper article. This also allowed to me to see my different appeals evolve. If I had all the time, money, and expertise in the world I would have the right computer software to start my newspaper article, making this process a little easier. I would also be able have a newspaper editor that can double check my article.
I would say this whole process has been a bit challenging for me. This is the first time that I have attempted such a project. I had always viewed being in an English class as having to constantly writing a series of essays, but this project has proven than English composition goes beyond the traditional essay writing and has motivated me to think more outside the box and explore my creativity. I can absolutely see myself using this again in the future.
