Study finds slight developmental lag in babies born during pandemic

[Anonymous]

Infants born in March to December 2020 scored lower on a test of motor and social skills at 6 months. It’s unclear whether the discrepancy will remain in the long term.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/babies-born-pandemic-slight-developmental-lag-study-finds-rcna10872

The infants were screened for social, communication and motor skills at 6 months of age using a standard questionnaire about their ability to roll from their back to their stomach, how often they babble and other milestones.

In most areas, the babies born during the pandemic displayed lower scores compared to those born earlier. That held true whether they were born to mothers who had been infected with Covid during pregnancy or not, the researchers found.

[Anonymous]

Well, a lot of babies and kids had all sources of fun kid activities/brain stimulating activities cancelled or closed. And were stuck at home with mom and dad working full time. Sad but not surprising.

[Anonymous]

“ He said he would have expected to see an effect on babies’ communication because adults’ masks hide their mouths when they talk and infants have had limited social interaction due to lockdowns.

“My initial impression would be things like language would be affected and motor wouldn’t be, and we’re seeing the opposite,” Deoni said. “

This does surprise me! Although it was only looking at 0-6 months so maybe that’s it?

[Anonymous]

Kind of sad if being with your parents instead of a poorly paid stranger is harmful to child development.

I would have to read the full article.

Wonder if it is related to parental depression?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kind of sad if being with your parents instead of a poorly paid stranger is harmful to child development.

I would have to read the full article.

Wonder if it is related to parental depression?

More likely- the baby is stuck in the crib or swing for hours a day with minimal interaction while the parent works.

[Anonymous]

100% expected this and I expect many more studies with similar results. Honestly, I expect the actual difference is much higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kind of sad if being with your parents instead of a poorly paid stranger is harmful to child development.

I would have to read the full article.

Wonder if it is related to parental depression?

More likely- the baby is stuck in the crib or swing for hours a day with minimal interaction while the parent works.

PP here- being stuck in a swing or other containing device for long periods is already known to hinder motor development also.

[Anonymous]

And some babies only know faces in masks. Terrible for development too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kind of sad if being with your parents instead of a poorly paid stranger is harmful to child development.

I would have to read the full article.

Wonder if it is related to parental depression?

I’m sure this is part of it. When you’re feeling stressed, scared and/or depressed you’re less likely to engage with your infant and provide enriching activities. Things like tummy time, peek a boo, and narrating your and the baby’s every move aren’t a priority when you feel like you’re in survival mode. Before the pandemic many mothers had the privilege of having time to worry about such things. Once Covid hit many people went into survival mode. Never mind the lack of things to do with a kid that age when baby music class, swim class, the farm, the zoo, etc are all closed and no one wants to visit for fear of getting your baby sick.

[Anonymous]

Very small sample, and it was self-selecting so parents who thought their babies were delayed might be more likely to choose to participate.

Pre-pandemic data was 62 babies, compared to 255 pandemic babies (out of 1706 mothers approached)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kind of sad if being with your parents instead of a poorly paid stranger is harmful to child development.

I would have to read the full article.

Wonder if it is related to parental depression?

More likely- the baby is stuck in the crib or swing for hours a day with minimal interaction while the parent works.

PP here- being stuck in a swing or other containing device for long periods is already known to hinder motor development also.

This makes sense — study was March to December 2020 in NYC too so lots of lockdowns and stressed/possibly sick parents, so yeah I’m not surprised the kids were slightly delayed. Fortunately it seems like only a small amount.

[Anonymous]

My April 2020 baby is so far more verbal than her older three siblings were at the same age. She got all the attention of a pandemic puppy and then some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And some babies only know faces in masks. Terrible for development too.

I would have agreed but there are studies saying the opposite.

I'm not an expert so I'm just posting this here

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/18/opinion/masks-schools-covid.html
Opponents of mask mandates for preschool and elementary-school children have expressed concern that wearing masks will impair children’s ability to learn language and socialize — or worse, that (in the words of one anxious parent in Utah) it will “rewire their brains.” Even parents who support mask mandates often worry about how a school year without smiles and frowns might negatively affect their children.

These concerns are understandable but unwarranted. Although scientists don’t have much data yet on how wearing masks during a pandemic affects children’s development, there is plenty of reason to believe that it won’t cause any harm. Children in cultures where caregivers and educators wear head coverings that obscure their mouths and noses develop skills just as children in other cultures do. Even congenitally blind children — who cannot see faces at all — still learn to speak, read and get along with other people.

Indeed, there is good reason to believe that wearing a mask at school could actually improve certain social and cognitive skills, helping to strengthen abilities like self-control and attention. This is not to say that masks are preferable to no masks, all things being equal. Masks are inconvenient, uncomfortable and bothersome. But as long as they are needed, we should take advantage of the fact that they offer distinctive opportunities for learning and growth.

Take language learning. It’s true that masks cover our mouths and that seeing mouth shape and movement contributes to language development in infants. But learning how to communicate involves a lot more than mouths — a reality that masks accentuate. It turns out that looking at eyes is at least as important as looking at mouths to understand whom you are looking at and what they are trying to convey. Eye-tracking research shows that by age 2, typically developing children spend more than twice as much of their time looking at adult speakers’ eyes as at their mouths. In fact, children with a stronger capacity to discern people’s thoughts and emotions based on their eyes alone exhibit greater social-emotional intelligence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And some babies only know faces in masks. Terrible for development too.

I would have agreed but there are studies saying the opposite.

I'm not an expert so I'm just posting this here

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/18/opinion/masks-schools-covid.html
Opponents of mask mandates for preschool and elementary-school children have expressed concern that wearing masks will impair children’s ability to learn language and socialize — or worse, that (in the words of one anxious parent in Utah) it will “rewire their brains.” Even parents who support mask mandates often worry about how a school year without smiles and frowns might negatively affect their children.

These concerns are understandable but unwarranted. Although scientists don’t have much data yet on how wearing masks during a pandemic affects children’s development, there is plenty of reason to believe that it won’t cause any harm. Children in cultures where caregivers and educators wear head coverings that obscure their mouths and noses develop skills just as children in other cultures do. Even congenitally blind children — who cannot see faces at all — still learn to speak, read and get along with other people.

Indeed, there is good reason to believe that wearing a mask at school could actually improve certain social and cognitive skills, helping to strengthen abilities like self-control and attention. This is not to say that masks are preferable to no masks, all things being equal. Masks are inconvenient, uncomfortable and bothersome. But as long as they are needed, we should take advantage of the fact that they offer distinctive opportunities for learning and growth.

Take language learning. It’s true that masks cover our mouths and that seeing mouth shape and movement contributes to language development in infants. But learning how to communicate involves a lot more than mouths — a reality that masks accentuate. It turns out that looking at eyes is at least as important as looking at mouths to understand whom you are looking at and what they are trying to convey. Eye-tracking research shows that by age 2, typically developing children spend more than twice as much of their time looking at adult speakers’ eyes as at their mouths. In fact, children with a stronger capacity to discern people’s thoughts and emotions based on their eyes alone exhibit greater social-emotional intelligence.

The language development that happens before school cannot be compared to school
Aged kids. The learning that happens between birth-3 is crucial.

[Anonymous]

The authors attribute it to stress.