Award-winning actress Goldie Hawn is expressing concerns over how COVID is affecting our nation’s children. Hawn is worried that kids “aren’t able to manage what’s going on.” Additionally, she says the trauma children are enduring from coronavirus and its related restrictions may have a deeper impact than we think.
“We can start looking at what we’re putting into schools. We can start looking at how we’re putting preventative social and emotional programs into schools,” Hawn said on “Fox & Friends.”
“We’re dealing right now with a mental illness pandemic,” she continued. “Mental illness is something that can actually last; it’s very, very dangerous. If we don’t look at it and know what and how to handle it, then we’re not going to win this battle with kids.”
The 76-year-old’s comments on the issue align with her recent opinion piece with USA Today. In the op-ed, she warned that COVID trauma is “hurting a generation of kids” and that “we’ve failed them as a nation.”
In the meantime, the push to end mask requirements for school children continues to grow. Per FOX News, fifteen states continue to enforce mask mandates in school.
Goldie Hawn Says We Need to Focus On Children Amid COVID Crisis
Hawn went on to express how powerful the human mind is. She claimed that this younger generation is having a difficult time processing the pandemic. As COVID continues to affect the country, Hawn says its important to look at how kids are handling it all.
“Whether it’s masks, whether it’s any of the various things that are going on today in the world, it’s very, very scary. I think that what we’ve got to do is start focusing in on our next generation,” she urged.
Hawn has long been an advocate for the issue of children’s mental health. The actress founded an organization called “MindUP” in 2003, which deals directly with anxiety, depression, and suicide in childhood. MindUP was started in order to help children develop the knowledge and tools they need to manage stress, regulate emotions… [and] Face the challenges of the 21st century with optimism, resilience and compassion.”
In the televised appearance, Hawn offered advice on how to appropriately relay COVID-related information to kids. “I think there is a way of conscious shifting in the way we report, the way we talk and the way we share.”
Mental Health Needs to Be a Higher Priority in Schools, She Says
Adults continue to debate the issue of mask-wearing for children in school. Meanwhile, Hawn says the effect it’s having on the children themselves is being overlooked.
“The bottom line is MindUP or any of these programs that are mental health are preventative programs should be in schools, not one day a week, every day — should be part of their classroom, part of their learning,” Hawn said. “The bottom line is MindUP or any of these programs that are mental health are preventative programs should be in schools, not one day a week, every day — should be part of their classroom, part of their learning.”
She wrapped up her passionate plea with an open-ended question. Hawn asks, “Why do we ask kids to learn and don’t teach them about their brain?”
