Toronto students told not to speak during lunch to reduce the spread of COVID-19
Parents of elementary school children in Toronto are expressing concern after their children were asked not to speak during lunch in an effort to curb transmission of COVID-19.
Teresa Ostrom told CTV News Toronto on Friday that her child, who attends Alvin Curling Public School in Scarborough, has been asked not to speak during the period in which they are unmasked and eating lunch.
While the health and safety measure is meant to minimize aerosol transmission the virus, some parents are concerned that the time, usually meant for socialization, is being replaced with screen time.
She says she didn't find out about the policy until she had a chance to meet her child’s teacher face-to-face.
“My kid had never mentioned it, so I was actually shocked,” Ostrom said. “We were told that the kids were not permitted to speak while eating lunch because they remove their masks to eat.”
Ostrom said she worries about her child’s ability to socialize.
“I just felt so sad for the kids,” she said. “They've missed out on so much and especially so much unstructured socialization, which is what chatting with friends during lunch is, so it just seemed like one more thing taken away from them.”
When reached for comment, the Toronto District School Board’s spokesperson, Ryan Bird, told CTV News Toronto that, “based on the advice of Toronto Public Health, we have required lunches to be brief and quiet.”
He says this guidance has been in place since September 2020.
“By keeping talking to a minimum while eating and while masks are off, we are reducing the possibility of spread of COVID-19,” said Bird, adding that when mealtime is over, children are then permitted to go outside, where they can talk freely.
Children born after 2009 are currently not eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, meaning the majority of elementary school students remain unvaccinated. Toronto's medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen deVilla said on Wednesday that she hopes to see approval to vaccinate children ages five and up in the coming weeks.
Narie Ju Hong, a parent of two TDSB students, said that her children have also been directed not to speak during their mealtime. She says she is also concerned about a lack of socialization and described the policy as “cruel.”
“I'm a high school teacher and we don't tell the students not to talk,” Hong said.
She said that her child’s teacher often plays french television shows during this time.
Another TDSB parent, Julia Lee, said that her child, who is currently in the third grade at Carleton Village Junior and Senior Public School, is often made to watch a movie during lunchtime, “so that the kids aren't moving around [and] talking while eating.”
A Toronto District School Board teacher, who asked not to be identified, told CTV News Toronto that they “often play a short educational TV show or learning video [while] kids eat their lunches.”
“They don’t feel hindered and they know that we try not to talk when our masks are off — for respect and safety for everyone,” they said.
The educator expressed concerns over parents hearing of the policy from their children without understanding “the bigger picture.”
“I worry when parents are being told a statement from children,” they said. “It is literally from the mouth of babes and what ends up happening is parents can only imagine what is going on based on their child’s words.”
COVID-19’S IMPACT ON YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH
A study conducted by researchers at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children over the summer suggested that the COVID-19 crisis has had a sustained and significant impact on youth’s mental health in Ontario and that screen time is partially to blame.
The early data, which had not yet been peer-reviewed, showed that more than half of 758 kids aged eight to 12 and nearly three quarters of 520 adolescents aged 13 to 18 reported significant symptoms of depression from February to March.
The study claims that increased time on screens “had a wide-ranging impact on the mental health of children and youth as well.”
“Of the 1,494 participants, increased time spent watching TV, on digital media and video games was associated with more irritability, hyperactivity, inattention, depression and anxiety,” the study says.
“Kids need school, they need their friends and they need to have fun,” Dr. Daphne Korczak, principal investigator of the study and child and adolescent psychiatrist at SickKids, said in a release on the study.
“As our focus shifts to reopening society, we must have meaningful conversations about prioritizing the needs of children and youth.”
With files from CTV New Toronto's Natalie Johnson.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.