{"id":934,"asset_id":"1220","title":"Lockdown Policies and Mask Mandates Linked With Lower IQ in Children","alias":"lockdown-policies-and-mask-mandates-linked-with-lower-iq-in-children","introtext":"<div class=\"featured_image\">\r\n<div class=\"featured_img\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2021\/12\/26\/Virus_Outbreak_France_21356502741381.jpg\"><img src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2021\/12\/26\/Virus_Outbreak_France_21356502741381-700x420.jpg\" alt=\"Hugo Chappaz, 9, left, waits with his father Benoit Chappaz, right, and his mother to be vaccinated at the National Velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, west of Paris, France on Dec. 22, 2021. (Michel Euler\/ AP Photo)\" width=\"333\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/div>\r\nHugo Chappaz, 9, left, waits with his father Benoit Chappaz, right, and his mother to be vaccinated at the National Velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, west of Paris, France on Dec. 22, 2021. (Michel Euler\/ AP Photo)&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/mkt_morningbrief\/lockdown-policies-and-mask-mandates-linked-with-lower-iq-in-children_4177711.html?utm_source=Morningbrief&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=mb-2021-12-27&amp;mktids=a458b144ed00a5e09fd02867a6547f36&amp;est=U785Hwha5rtRUl8ydffte9NgrvtwMKsHvo19Ub1UB1XupulXSe0FY4jfK4a7aVs%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> EPOCH TIMES<\/a><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"pricat_name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/c-america\">AMERICA<\/a><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"post_title\">\r\n<h1><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Lockdown Policies and Mask Mandates Linked With Lower IQ in Children<\/span><\/h1>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"author_date_tools\">\r\n<div class=\"author\">BY&nbsp;<span class=\"author_name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-tammy-hung\">TAMMY HUNG<\/a><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\"><span class=\"publish\">December 26, 2021<\/span>&nbsp;<span class=\"update\">Updated: December 26, 2021<\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"tools\">\r\n<div class=\"print\"><span class=\"printer\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/mkt_morningbrief\/lockdown-policies-and-mask-mandates-linked-with-lower-iq-in-children_4177711.html?utm_source=Morningbrief&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=mb-2021-12-27&amp;mktids=a458b144ed00a5e09fd02867a6547f36&amp;est=U785Hwha5rtRUl8ydffte9NgrvtwMKsHvo19Ub1UB1XupulXSe0FY4jfK4a7aVs%3D#Print\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"text\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"post_content\">\r\n<p>The nation\u2019s recent lockdown policies and mask mandates will create a generation of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-children\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">children<\/a>&nbsp;who exhibit lower IQs and signs of social brain damage, according to a clinical psychiatrist for children and adolescents.<\/p>\r\n<p>Dr. Mark McDonald cited an Aug. 11 study by Brown University (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.medrxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2021.08.10.21261846v1.full.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>) that found that \u201cchildren born during the pandemic have significantly reduced verbal, motor, and overall cognitive performance compared to children born pre-pandemic,\u201d during an interview with host Cindy Drukier on a Dec. 25 episode of NTD\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/lower-iq-brain-damage-anxiety-children-pay-high-price-for-pandemic-policies_4177325.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Nation Speaks.\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;NTD is a sister media outlet of The Epoch Times.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n","fulltext":"\r\n<p>The masks, \u201cZoom schools,\u201d and lockdown mandates have led to \u201cdeprivation overall, of social contact, [of<a href=\"https:\/\/collateralglobal.org\/article\/report-the-impact-of-pandemic-restrictions-on-childhood-mental-health\/\">https:\/\/collateralglobal.org\/article\/report-the-impact-of-pandemic-restrictions-on-childhood-mental-health\/<\/a>\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 238);\"&gt;study,&nbsp;which concluded that \u201ceight out of 10 children and adolescents report worsening of behavior or any psychological symptoms or an increase in negative feelings due to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">COVID-19<\/a>&nbsp;pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cSchool closures contributed to increased anxiety, loneliness and stress; negative feelings due to COVID-19 increased with the duration of school closures,\u201d the study reports. \u201cDeteriorating&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-mental-health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mental health<\/a>&nbsp;was found to be worse in females and older adolescents.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>Adolescents above the age of 12 also did worse than children under 12, as adolescents face increasing peer pressure, social pressure, and are more aware of messages being delivered globally, according to Heneghan.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cThe first thing is to deescalate any fear and anxiety around COVID for children,\u201d Heneghan said. \u201cFor children, [COVID<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dovepress.com\/mental-health-implications-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-among-children-and-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PHMT#cit0015\">https:\/\/www.dovepress.com\/mental-health-implications-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-among-children-and-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PHMT#cit0015<\/a>\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 238);\"&gt;study, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also showed that mental health-related visits in 2020, when pandemic restrictions were first imposed, increased by 24 percent in 5- to 11-year-olds and 31 percent in 12- to 17-year-olds, compared to 2019 data.<\/p>\r\n<p>Anecdotally, McDonald noted that he\u2019s seen children who \u201crefuse to make eye contact, who are wetting their pants or wetting the bed at night, cannot go to sleepovers\u2014being away from their mother for extended periods of time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>Teenagers, on the other hand, come out of lockdown restrictions being \u201cso wrapped up in social media and phones and Zoom school because they\u2019ve been trained for the last year and a half, that they do not even want to go out anymore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n<p>McDonald called the government and media corporations out for creating a \u201cbehavioral conditioning program,\u201d in which children are subjected to \u201cirrational, ridiculous\u201d situations such as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/24\/nyc-kids-eating-school-lunch-outdoors-despite-dropping-temps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">eating outside on a 40-degree day<\/a>&nbsp;and having to run marathons or play sports with masks on.<\/p>\r\n<p>As of Dec. 27, the Biden administration is recommending that children \u201ctoo young to be vaccinated\u201d should be \u201csurrounded by&nbsp;vaccinated people and mask in public indoor spaces, including schools,\u201d according to the COVID plan on the White House&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/covidplan\/#schools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a>.&nbsp;\u201cFor those adolescents aged 12 and above who are eligible for vaccination, the most important step parents can take is to get them vaccinated.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>As of Dec. 27, the website states that \u201cover half of the nation\u2019s adolescents have been vaccinated.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\r\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\r\n<div class=\"top_row\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-tammy-hung\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/default-user.png\" alt=\"Tammy Hung\" \/><\/a>&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"names\">\r\n<div class=\"name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-tammy-hung\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tammy Hung<\/a><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"title\">&nbsp;<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"follow_author right\" data-id=\"155522\">Follow<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"bio\">&nbsp;<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","state":1,"catid":"59","created":"2021-12-27 12:44:06","created_by":"873","created_by_alias":"","modified":"2022-01-01 22:28:33","modified_by":"873","checked_out":"873","checked_out_time":"2022-01-01 22:27:39","publish_up":"2021-12-27 12:44:06","publish_down":"0000-00-00 00:00:00","images":"{\"image_intro\":\"\",\"float_intro\":\"\",\"image_intro_alt\":\"\",\"image_intro_caption\":\"\",\"image_fulltext\":\"\",\"float_fulltext\":\"\",\"image_fulltext_alt\":\"\",\"image_fulltext_caption\":\"\"}","urls":"{\"urla\":false,\"urlatext\":\"\",\"targeta\":\"\",\"urlb\":false,\"urlbtext\":\"\",\"targetb\":\"\",\"urlc\":false,\"urlctext\":\"\",\"targetc\":\"\"}","attribs":"{\"article_layout\":\"\",\"show_title\":\"\",\"link_titles\":\"\",\"show_tags\":\"\",\"show_intro\":\"\",\"info_block_position\":\"\",\"info_block_show_title\":\"\",\"show_category\":\"\",\"link_category\":\"\",\"show_parent_category\":\"\",\"link_parent_category\":\"\",\"show_associations\":\"\",\"show_author\":\"\",\"link_author\":\"\",\"show_create_date\":\"\",\"show_modify_date\":\"\",\"show_publish_date\":\"\",\"show_item_navigation\":\"\",\"show_icons\":\"\",\"show_print_icon\":\"\",\"show_email_icon\":\"\",\"show_vote\":\"\",\"show_hits\":\"\",\"show_noauth\":\"\",\"urls_position\":\"\",\"alternative_readmore\":\"\",\"article_page_title\":\"\",\"show_publishing_options\":\"\",\"show_article_options\":\"\",\"show_urls_images_backend\":\"\",\"show_urls_images_frontend\":\"\"}","version":6,"ordering":"4","metakey":"","metadesc":"","access":"1","hits":"6","metadata":"{\"robots\":\"\",\"author\":\"\",\"rights\":\"\",\"xreference\":\"\"}","featured":"1","language":"*","xreference":"","note":""}