Study finds slight developmental lag in babies born during pandemic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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)

Oh what's that? The study was right.

Emerging evidence reveals an uptick in developmental delays and challenging behaviors in children belonging to the so-called “COVID generation.” Born during or shortly before the pandemic, many of these children are talking, walking and interacting later and less frequently. They're also more prone to certain behaviors, like outbursts, physical aggression and separation anxiety.

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/education/2022/06/09/pandemic-babies-now-toddlers-delayed-development-heres-why/9660318002/

Of course the study was right. Only complete idiots didn’t see this coming.

No, it's s not en vogue to care about young children's development right now

[Anonymous]

As someone who works with infants and toddlers (both typically developing and with special needs) I have not noticed any trend of differences between pre-pandemic babies and their recent counterparts. What I have noticed is that now some parents use the pandemic as an excuse as to why their child does not need to be evaluated or receive services: “oh, she’s a pandemic baby, that’s why her language is delayed” when the child has many red flags for autism.

[Anonymous]

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

It's this. Think about everywhere a baby is taken -- a store, the playground, someone's home -- babies learn from watching people's faces and everyone had masks.

[Anonymous]

Oh and then they say they can't possibly work in person because poor people are dirty. Shameful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who works with infants and toddlers (both typically developing and with special needs) I have not noticed any trend of differences between pre-pandemic babies and their recent counterparts. What I have noticed is that now some parents use the pandemic as an excuse as to why their child does not need to be evaluated or receive services: “oh, she’s a pandemic baby, that’s why her language is delayed” when the child has many red flags for autism.

And I've noticed early intervention providers have failed to adequately assess young children for delays because they refuse to conduct assessments in person if the child has so much as a runny nose, even if they have tested negative for COVID on a PCR. They insist virtual is fine but don't offer to provide the necessary materials to conduct the assessment adequately.

But sure, blame the parents for your failures.

+1 My sister had to wait an extra 6 months to get in for her early intervention assessment because someone was always sick or taking care of sick kids/kids out of school

[Anonymous]

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

Oh, BS. Their parents aren't making at home.

[Anonymous]

Honestly all you folks who are claiming it's not true and these kids are fine are in complete denial.

The delays for assessments were real. Providers thought doing virtual assessments for toddlers was appropriate. This is seriously crazy.

I work in early intervention but private-not through the county. I can tell you the county did everything they could to do the least amount of work possible. These kids suffered. And they just act like it's fine.

It's shameful. Absolutely shameful. There is a ridiculous increase in referrals for evaluations of toddlers. More than I have ever seen in my 15 years in the field. And also, an incredible increase in older 3 and 4 year olds who should have been assessed much earlier but couldn't be because nobody was willing to put themselves at risk. So they went undiagnosed without services for an incredibly long time. Anybody in early intervention will tell you that the differences between a child diagnosed with autism at 2 and a child first diagnosed at 4 are staggering. It's called early intervention for a reason. The earlier they start getting services, the better the outcome. We let these kids down. And they will pay for it for possibly the rest of their lives.

[Anonymous]

I have an almost 3 year old (born September 2019) who’s headed to FCPS’s special education preschool program in the fall for speech (expressive and receptive) and motor delays. He missed all the typical baby stuff. We weren’t overly cautious but of course, a lot of decisions were basically made for us because of the closures. I mean the libraries here have only very recently restarted story times. The case loads for ITC providers are insane at the moment according to the ITC employees. People are realizing their toddlers are delayed and are now facing big waiting lists for services and sub-par services too. I knew my DS was delayed at about 1.5 but at that time he could only get virtual services and I didn’t think they’d be helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Oh, BS. Their parents aren't making at home.

For real. Babies pick up their first social skills from household members, not the grocery store. Jesus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course anecdotes don’t trump statistics but my experience with a 1.5 year old born to a stressed out mom because of pandemic restrictions- toddler is extremely advanced and social for his age, despite missing out on all the activities older siblings got. Zero lag. In fact toddler appears to be the most advanced when comparing milestones at this age, and siblings are all neurotypical and well adjusted/smart.

It's not that they don't trump statistics, it's that they are meaningless.nobody is saying all children are delayed, and your little "anecdote" is offensive to those of us who have directly seen the impacts of pandemic restrictions on our children. It's not that we think our children would have been "normal" were it not for the pandemic, it's that we've seen their issues be exacerbated by the restrictions and made much more difficult to treat.

As for your toddler - congratulations, do you want a medal?

[Anonymous]

This is a load of ridiculous bs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a load of ridiculous bs.

Based on what exactly?

[Anonymous]

Okay. Now post a study about the developmental delays and regressions experienced by teenagers who were locked out of schools and kept apart from their peers for more than a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay. Now post a study about the developmental delays and regressions experienced by teenagers who were locked out of schools and kept apart from their peers for more than a year.

Odd. You realize that there can be delays in both teens and babies based on aspects of a global pandemic, right? One doesn't really impact the other.

[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.

Hey but at least they were saaaaffffe from Covid unlike those poor kids whose parents put them back in daycare, right?!