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Sara Lamie knows that if her daughter, Avah, has something to get off her chest, it鈥檒l happen in the car after school:

鈥淪ometimes she'll come right out and say, like, 'Mom, [sigh] I had a rough day today.'鈥�

Sara asks Avah, who鈥檚 11, if she wants to talk about it. If she does, she might say she鈥檚 worried that she doesn鈥檛 have enough friends. Or she鈥檒l talk about something in class that was stressful. But lately, she's been saying that arguments at recess have been turning violent. And she seems upset by it.

鈥淵ou know, she usually wouldn't say anything to me unless it was really bothersome to her," Sara said.

Avah goes to Dothan Brook school in Hartford. This fall, the head of the local teachers union there pointing out the high levels of aggressive and violent behavior in elementary schools. 鈥淪taff members and students have been hit, kicked, pushed, bit, head-butted and spit on,鈥� she wrote.

This is happening around the state. For instance, teachers in Addison County after an elementary school student tore apart a classroom in the fall. One student at a high school needed medical attention after a fight. There鈥檚 been vandalism in Washington County, gun threats in Windham County, and everywhere, tensions are high.

Laurel Omland is the director of the Child, Adolescent and Family unit at the Vermont Department of Mental Health. She says that before the pandemic, anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation were on the rise among children and youth in Vermont.

鈥淎nd where we do have some data for the period since the pandemic started,鈥� she told VPR, 鈥渨e are seeing that 鈥� the biggest area of need is in relationship anxiety and attention. And then there's a lack of optimism and interpersonal skills.鈥�

In December, the , as exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, an 鈥渦rgent public health issue鈥� that needs 鈥渋mmediate awareness and action.鈥�

Allison Hayes is a licensed clinical mental health counselor at Morristown Elementary school, where she says there鈥檚 been about a 25% increase in need for services.

Hayes says the students she works with are in three different categories:

First: there are those who were doing fine before the pandemic, and now are struggling.

Second: there are those who had already been receiving mental health care, and whatever they were dealing with has been compounded by the pandemic.

Third: there are kids whose young age and relative isolation during COVID means they鈥檙e behind on developing essential social skills.

鈥淎nd so we've got these kids who are coming in with some, sometimes some big behaviors, because they just don't have the skills," Hayes said. "They don't know how to be a part of a group.鈥�

Which makes the need for attention greater, and interactions more difficult.

But the main thing young people seem to be dealing with, says Hayes, is some form of anxiety:

鈥淭here really is just this kind of generalized anxiety, this floating fear for some children. What does this mean? What's going to happen? Are we going to wear masks forever? What if I get sick? What if I get my mom sick? Or my grandparents get sick? What if somebody dies? What if I 诲颈别?鈥�

Mollie Farnham-Stratton is a therapist who works with young people at the Vermont Center for Anxiety Care in Burlington. She says some of the biggest stressors she sees are climate change, school safety, and, of course, the pandemic 鈥� which comes with a big loss of stability.

鈥淲hether it's a small thing like a playdate, but they were looking forward to it for so long, and then somebody鈥檚 sick, right, that kind of constant shifting. That, I think, is just exhausting.鈥�

As long as kids have , the once-predictable routines of school and daycare will remain inconsistent. , and kids under 5 aren鈥檛 yet eligible for any vaccine.

And Farnham-Stratton says kids feel the, who are dealing with schedules thrown into disarray, food and housing insecurity, illness, death of a loved one, loss of a job.

鈥淟ook,鈥� she said, 鈥渢he pandemic has increased that across the board for many, not necessarily equally.鈥�

The impacts of disrupted networks are more acute for young people from certain backgrounds: those with disabilities, BIPOC youth, LGBTQ youth, low-income youth, those in immigrant households, those in rural areas, those in foster care, and those experiencing homelessness. This list accounts for a lot of kids in the state.

On top of that, there are still the expectations of school 鈥� but when you鈥檙e stressed and worried and anxious, and already behind because of remote instruction, and then a close contact, then on break, and then still expected to be on grade level for math, it can feel like you鈥檙e a failure, says school counselor Allison Hayes.

鈥淎 lot of kids are feeling that 'I am stupid, I'm dumb, I can't do it,'" Hayes said. "I hear a lot more negative self-talk around that, that there's this demand that they just don't feel that they can meet.鈥�

With young kids especially, say Hayes and Farnham-Stratton, anxiety doesn鈥檛 manifest as being worried about this or that. Kids often don't have the language to express what they鈥檙e feeling, or even to identify what that feeling is. Which leads some of them to act out.

But they might just be feeling it. 11-year-old Avah Lamie does, sitting in the backseat of the car after school.

鈥淭he weight of COVID and how many lives it's taken is a lot to deal with, too,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ometimes we just pretend the world's perfect, you know? So we don't have to beat ourselves down for something that we didn't cause.鈥�

Therapist Mollie Farnham-Stratton says kids often will pick up on what's going on, whether it's said or not. And one thing caregivers can do is, in an age-appropriate way, give a bit of insight "to allow for that child not to necessarily internalize it," she said. "Some things can be mitigated by just not having them just be in the ether."

The thing that adults sometimes forget about being a kid, is that for what seems like a very long time, you鈥檙e old enough to comprehend what鈥檚 going on, but too young to do anything about it. You鈥檙e in between, Avah says. And that鈥檚 a hard place to be.

鈥淚 know lots of kids out there that are feeling alone and crowded in this pandemic, like both at the same time," she said. "Sometimes you need to give them space, and other times you just have to be there to support them.鈥�

Have questions, comments or tips? or get in touch with reporter Anna Van Dine.