Child behavior during the social distancing in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paiva, Eny Dórea; Silva, Luciana Rodrigues da; Machado, Maria Estela Diniz; Aguiar, Rosane Cordeiro Burla de; Garcia, Karina Rangel da Silva; Acioly, Paloma Gonçalves Martins

OBJECTIVE To describe the daily activities performed by children from 6 to 12 years of age incomplete and analyze children's behavior during social distancing in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS Cross-sectional study with children in a learning stage living in Brazil. The data were collected via online form. Fisher's exact test was applied to analyze the association of categorical variables with child behavior; when significant, it was used the odds ratio. It was considered results considered statistically significant those presenting values of p < 0.05. RESULTS Data from 530 children were analyzed: 50.3% female, 71.3% from the Southeast Region, 73% in fulltime social distancing, 52% presented anxiety, which was significantly associated with changes in sleep and appetite. CONCLUSION The results indicate the need for parents/caretakers to stimulate moments for the child to express themselves, not minimizing their feelings and providing emotional support to mitigate the negative impact of these feelings on the child's mental and physical health.