11/26/2022
By Natasha Antoniuk
The Covid-19 has shed light on a number of realizations, with a significant one being the effects of lack of socialization and increase of stress. With the online world already having a large foothold in older adolescents’ lives, it was inevitable that, with the rise of Covid-19 and the resulting pandemic, they would spend more time on it than ever before, alike to everyone else. This is obvious, but a less obvious effect can be found in the serious consequences on the social development of toddlers and infants from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the First Five Years Fund, an organization that works to ensure children up to age five access to education and care to aid in their development, “recent academic research demonstrates that many young children have experienced delays in cognitive and motor skills, and programs have reported increases in behavioral issues” [1], which is a result of lack of interaction with fellow children, lowered amounts of pre-k enrollment, and less children being referred for early IDEA disability intervention services.
Two aspects of life that it is crucial for young children to have access to in their development are positive caregiver interaction and protection from toxic stress, as opposed to tolerable stress. * The Covid-19 pandemic, though, has resulted in increased toxic stress and decreased nurturing interaction that stem from a variety of pandemic-related issues, such as increased financial insecurity, anxiety, and depression in caregivers. Along with this has been an increase in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) **, as a result of job loss, school isolation, and various other stressors. For many children who have limited healthy interactions and increased toxic stress, they may suffer serious irreversible neurological issues.[2] This doesn’t only affect children in the short-term, but also the long-term.
Furthermore, lowered pre-kindergarten enrollment (only “13% of children in families experiencing poverty and 38% of those above the poverty line were reported to receive in-person preschool” [1]) affected the mental and social development of young children, considering that the majority of brain development happens before kindergarten begins. As a result, “[w]hile the full effects remain unclear, early research indicates many infants and toddlers raised during the pandemic experienced delays in cognitive and motor skills” [3], a large reason being the limited interactions that young children are receiving. Furthermore, children that don’t develop these skills may show increased levels of withdrawn, anxiety, and aggression, as shown by the increased number of reports by parents and programs about these traits. This affects these children long-term, since “overwhelming evidence demonstrates that children who enter kindergarten behind are more likely to stay behind throughout the course of their academic careers” [1], which results from a lack of pre-k education, which dropped for the first time in two decades due to Covid-19 worries by parents.
Lastly, fewer children were receiving early intervention services for disabilities, as can be seen in how “[f]rom 2019-2020, the number of children birth to age two served by IDEA Part C services declined by 63,847 or 15%… Underidentification could create an uptick in referrals in elementary schools in the next few years and... children who were eligible but did not receive services due to the pandemic will likely need increased support.” [1] This will need an increase of government grants from the IDEA program - the Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities - in the future, as well as leading to a lowered amount of child disability early prevention of serious issues.
Clearly, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a variety of issues in children’s early mental development within children that had their early childhood in or were born during the Covid-19 pandemic.
* The distinction between tolerable and toxic stress is that, with tolerable stress, children have an available and supportive caregiver that is able to tone down their response to that stress, while in toxic stress there is not enough support from the caregiver, resulting in a child’s resulting inability to lower their stress response.
** “Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are defined as traumatic or stressful events that occur in childhood, such as domestic violence, abuse, neglect, and parental mental illness or substance dependence.”[1]
Sources:
[1] https://www.ffyf.org/how-has-covid-19-impacted-infants-and-toddlers-social-development/ (largely referencing the PDF at the bottom, aswell)
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