Academy award-winning actress Goldie Hawn warned that the coronavirus trauma is deeply impacting children nationwide, and stressed that kids “aren’t able to manage what’s going on.”
Hawn joined “Fox & Friends,” Friday to highlight how children are being deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions.
“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 told co-hosts Brian Kilmeade, Will Cain, and Carley Shimkus.
“We’re dealing right now with a mental illness pandemic. 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 “Overboard” actress’ comments double-down on a recent op-ed for USA Today, where she emphasized that the COVID trauma is “hurting a generation of kids” and that “we’ve failed them as a nation.”
Meanwhile, calls are growing around the country to unmask students, as states refused to let up on restrictive COVID policies at the expense of America’s children. Fifteen states still enforce mask mandates in schools.
Hawn continued to say the mind is a “very powerful thing,” and said this generation of kids is having a more difficult time processing the coronavirus pandemic that continues to wreak havoc in our country.
“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 on our next generation,” she urged.
Hawn has been an advocate for children’s mental health since founding the non-profit MindUP in 2003. The organization was started 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.” MindUP directly deals with childhood aggression, anxiety, depression, and suicide.
“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.”
“Why do we ask kids to learn and don’t teach them about their brain?” Hawn concluded.
