Get Ready for a Generation of Covid Babies with Lifelong Scars.

At the same time that‍ emergency room​ visits for​ children in psychiatric crisis are surging, a recent medical ⁤paper ‌studying these ER visits‍ suggests “behavior health equity” ‌as ⁣a prognosis for the “bottlenecks and backlogs of​ patients in need of emergency care.”

The ‍ paper, released by ⁣the American Academy of ⁤Pediatrics (AAP) ‌and three other medical organizations, defines this “health equity” solution as “the ​right to access quality health care for all populations regardless of the ​individual’s race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status,‌ sexual‍ orientation, or geographical location. ⁢This includes access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services for mental and substance use ‌disorders.”

In typical form, the ⁤media are disinterested⁣ in ⁣digging into the root cause of the symptoms ⁢that seem to be on ​the rise.

We are expected to‍ pretend there are ​no obvious causes linked ⁣to ‍this trend or the ⁢cause for further acceleration after 2019. It couldn’t be the confluence of “eco-anxiety” born from ‍apocalyptic environmentalism, mindless scrolling on social media in ⁤spite of its ties to anxiety and depression and clear pushing⁤ of⁢ videos ⁢ encouraging⁣ eating disorders and suicide, censored ⁢speech and‌ uninvited speakers ​to⁤ indulge the protection of “safe spaces,” trend-breaking gender confusion in parallel with usurpation of parents’ rights, or the overall erosion of normalcy in society.

It’s ⁣a mystery.

Yet the staggering numbers we are ​seeing ​of unhappy, not-fully-functioning ​teens ​are likely only a preview of what is to come with Gen Alpha.

Make ‍Way for Gen Alpha

The generation after Gen Z, these‍ babies and young kids ​of the pandemic, spent their formative years in a highly abnormal society. This was ​the generation that was ⁤raised ⁤under the thumb ‍of ⁣Anthony Fauci and the World Health Organization, which simplified⁢ and suppressed the world into a⁢ zero-sum game: either you die of‍ Covid, or you⁣ don’t.

This youngest ⁤generation ⁣observed all new forms of unkind, unusual, and unsocial societal behaviors. ⁤They were warned to be wary of other ⁤kids in the classroom ‍at a time when⁣ one⁢ of the most important inputs to their learning and development ​was play. They ⁣lost valuable time in a classroom as ⁤teachers unions‌ put on⁢ bizarre dances in attempts to extend remote learning. This‍ generation ‍experienced far less physical ⁣touch and lost out on the⁤ baseline opportunities to develop face perception⁣ for emotional connection and understanding.

With the already extra-fragile attitudes of Gen Z, ​the new paranoias and stressors imposed on‌ Gen Alpha were not quelled⁤ simply when⁤ the masks came off. We are left ⁣to wonder: Are ‌we doomed⁣ to a generation of socially stunted bubble babies?

What is⁢ clear ⁤is that the enduring consequences of Covid-era decisions on this youngest generation’s⁢ mental and emotional fitness are only⁢ starting to bubble to the⁢ surface. Pediatric ‍speech disorder diagnosis is more than ‌double pre-pandemic levels. Math and reading scores have dropped to the lowest in‍ decades.​ Scientific understanding of the irreversible effects‍ of social isolation on ​the prefrontal ⁤cortex has been hushed​ away.

Even so, it would be nice to believe it isn’t‌ too​ late to change course. Better‌ paths⁢ are always ‍available, one must simply ⁢acknowledge straying off course.

But it would seem that governments​ across the ​world ‍today, the U.S. sadly being no‍ exception to the trend, are⁢ fixated on a path that​ purports “equity” and “fairness,” but in⁣ fact promises further‌ instability, less individual autonomy, and more government ‍control. People who are rich — happiness-rich, ideas-rich, energy-rich, food-rich — those‌ people are difficult to control.

But if you are ⁤food-poor, energy-poor, and⁤ —‍ arguably the⁢ most important of all resources — happiness-poor,⁣ what is‍ left to support you from falling?

The mind ⁤is the last bastion of human freedom.

We ​need to be more⁣ than wary of these⁣ trends. We must stop them or else prepare for a generation of emotionally frail, communicatively inept, unfree disconsolates.

Arynne Wexler is a blue state ‍refugee⁣ enjoying her ‍freedom in South Florida.