THU229 Assessing The Effect Of The Changing Levels Of Restrictions Placed By The COVID-19 Pandemic On Children And Their Behaviors

Disclosure: G.S. Babar: None. E.C. Wee: None. E. Paprocki: None. T. Luetjen: None. Y. Yan: None. BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemic changed lifestyles of children. To prevent the spread of the virus, school closures with virtual learning, suspension of organized sports and social distancing were implemented.Objective: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children including social circumstances, eating behaviors, physical activity, and emotional responses in families with children between the ages of 5-12 years. Design/Methods: After verbal consent an IRB approved survey was sent via email to families seen at outpatient Endocrine clinics between January 2022 to December 2022. Results: There were 175 children from 99 households (1.8 children per household), 39% were single-child, 44% had two children, and 16% had at least 3 children. Nearly 60% (103) of the children were boys, and 85% (148) of the children were white. Twenty seven percent reported that it was more screen time than before the pandemic, with average of 3.01 hours (SD=2.5). Sixty one percent reported that their physical activity levels were like pre-pandemic, with an average of 1.5 hours (SD=1.5). When alone and not busy their children were sometimes (48, 45%) or frequently (46, 26%) bored. Most parents report that the meal (150, 87%) and snack (172, 98%) frequency are like the frequency before the pandemic. Children have some degree of difficulty with emotions, concentration or behavior, with nearly a 31% (53) experiencing mild difficulties, 23% (40) experiencing moderate difficulties, and 3% (5) experiencing severe difficulties. Fifty seven percent of parents report that the difficulties have been present for more than a year, and for 49 children (28%) the difficulties are relatively new (i.e., present less than a month). In 20-25% of children, the difficulties interfere “a medium amount”, to “a great deal” at home (45, 26%), with friends (32, 19%), and at school (47, 27%). The difficulties generally don’t upset the children (127, 74% “not at all” or “only a little”) or place a significant burden on families (136, 79% “not at all” or “only a little”). About 20-25% of children, the difficulties interfere “a medium amount” to “a great deal” at home (45, 26%), with friends (32, 19%), and at school (47, 27%). Sleep remained about the same amount as before the pandemic (152, 98%), and that they can fall and stay asleep like the sleeping behaviors prior to the pandemic (156, 89%). Stress lev