Mohiuddin Alamgir

Lonely and bored, Mahdia Mahmud is now having trouble concentrating.

“When will I be able to play with my friends again?” the second grader of a reputed school in the capital’s Mirpur hurls this question to her parents every now and then.

“I miss my friends. I want to play with them. How long will I have to do online classes?” she further asks.

Her mother Mousumi Julekha said the child is no longer that curious anymore and cries frequently. “My daughter hardly talks to anyone these days,” she complained.

She also said, “It seems she has become too emotional and sometimes it’s hard to manage her. We can do nothing but let her play games on our phones to keep her occupied.”

Mahdia’s case is not an isolated one.

Closure of schools across the country for around seven months now has kept millions of children confined to their homes and away from their peers, resulting in growing monotony, boredom and stress, according to educationists and psychologists.

They also said these psychological problems, which came along with the school closure, may leave a long-lasting effect on the mental health of the children.

Children in urban areas are suffering more as most have to live in cramped conditions amid little space. The sense of being confined and having to stay away from friends is affecting these children’s mental health badly, psychologists said.

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY