The pandemic has impacted every single individual, from every corner of the world, in one way or another. Businesses and economies have taken a drastic blow, and a world filled with masks has become the new normal. Isolation and adults working from home are now part of everyday life. University students and secondary education shifted to an online format as well. Whether we have accepted it or not, we have learned to complete work under the same roof that we sleep under. What about the grade school children who do not yet understand that this is not how it should be? How does segregation from the rest of the world affect them? 

In all aspects of life – academically, physically, socially and mentally – the global pandemic has become a crisis for the generation we consider children. It is understood that transmission of the novel coronavirus is highest in indoor spaces packed full of people; therefore, schools are some of the first to be closed. UNESCO states that 90% of the world’s school-age children have been affected by school closures. Losing hundreds of days of formal education and converting to online learning, which is not the most effective way to teach children who have a shorter attention span, is detrimental to their cognitive development. 

Formal Education and Distanced Learning

A clinical director at Harley Therapy, Dr Sheri Jacobson, explains why this isolation impacts youth specifically, stating that the problem lies in a child’s brain. She explains that “the younger their age, the more they’ve been focused on tactile- and social-based learning.” Dr Jacobson goes on to explain a child’s inability to conceptualize objects and experiences. It is their physical interaction with other children and the world that is most important in intellectual development. 

This is well supported by a study done in 2007 by professor Dave Marcotte at American University, who researched the effect of short-term school closures, such as snow days. His findings were astonishing in that an average of 5 days lost resulted in a drop of 3% in passing rate or 1 in 30 children. Marcotte researched further into more long-term situations such as summer holidays. He states that ¼ of what is learned throughout the year is lost during summer break. These lockdowns have been in place far longer than a summer break; therefore, aside from their pause in learning, they could move backwards and forget what they already know. 

An article done by BBC News in 2011 outlines the correlation between time spent at school and an increase in IQ, meaning this pandemic could enforce lifelong effects on cognition in children. Though learning is still available online, it just isn’t the same. Engagement and focus at home are not at the level in a classroom surrounded by peers and making real connections. 

Academic advances of children in poorer families are heavily affected. Distanced learning requires a working computer, internet, designated place for children to complete their work, and although not required – a parent at home supporting and guiding the student can be very helpful. Any of these requirements may be unavailable to a family of the lower class, putting them at an even further disadvantage. Extended periods away from school and proper learning will exponentially widen the gap in educational achievement between the rich and the poor. Economically, rises in job loss and the increase in financial hardship amplify these inequalities and, therefore, youth development overall. 

Socioemotional Development

Beyond the obvious major differences in the educational aspect, social and emotional development are heavily impacted as well. Social skills, abilities to cope with emotion (regulating feelings), knowing how and when to exert self-control and understanding how to manage conflict do not evolve from a child being alone at home for months. Unlike teens who have access to phones and social media, young children cannot regularly stay in contact with peers or distant family members – they are completely separated. 

In a comparison done by only children and siblings by Katherine M. Kitzmann, Robert Cohen and Rebecca L. Lockwood, they discovered that children with more siblings develop social skills at a quicker rate than only children, leaving children without siblings at a disadvantage during the pandemic. Parents may take the place of a sibling in that they can aid in socioemotional development; however, not all families are lucky enough to have supportive parents who are willing to or are able to provide help.