TPP 309: Anya Kamenetz on Her Book The Stolen Year and the Impact of COVID on Children

Author and reporter, Anya Kamenetz is back on the podcast to talk about her new book The Stolen Year: How Covid Changed Children’s Lives, And Where We Go Now. The Stolen Year is a powerful look at how the pandemic disrupted children’s lives — their learning, mental health, and overall well-being. The Stolen Year isn’t written specifically for parents of differently wired children, but I thought it was important to really explore what the research and data shows the cost of the past two years has been for our most valuable resource – our children, as well as consider the question – where do we go from here?

During our conversation we talked about the trends on decreasing graduation rates, the impact of food scarcity on children and adolescents, and caregiver depression. We also talked about the kinds of resources families need to recover from the pandemic, especially within marginalized communities and more severely impacted populations, and much more. 

Anya Kamenetz has covered education for many years, including for NPR, where she also co-created the podcast Life Kit:Parenting in partnership with Sesame Workshop.

Kamenetz is the author of several acclaimed nonfiction books: Generation Debt ; DIY U ; The Test: Why Our Schools Are Obsessed With Standardized Testing, But You Don’t Have To Be, and The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life.

Things you'll learn from this episode

What the long-lasting effects of COVID in children’s lives are according to Anya’s research

Where we should be focusing our energy — our kids’ learning loss or their mental health and wellbeing

The trends on decreasing graduation rates and how that might play out in the next few years for young people

Whether experts consider the pandemic to be an ACE (adverse childhood experience)

The impact of food scarcity on children during COVID

What resources families need to recover from the pandemic, especially for marginalized communities

Resources mentioned for the impact of COVID on children

Anya Kamenetz’s website

The Stolen Year: How Covid Changed Children’s Lives, and Where We Go Now by Anya Kamenetz

Anya Kamenetz Talks About Her Book, The Art of Screentime (Tilt Parenting podcast)

The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life by Anya Kamenetz

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