COVID疫情對嬰幼兒發展的負面影響

1)      Babies born during COVID-19 pandemic have lower IQs

疫情後出生的嬰兒有較低認知能力，語言能力與動作能力表現。可能影響因素有限制在家中影響活動與外界接觸，父母感受重大壓力影響教養。

COVID-19 has been debilitatingly boring for newborns, disturbing new research has found. Scientists have discovered that the coronavirus pandemic significantly impacted the intelligence of children born during it: Living the entirety of their lives in lockdown has seriously stunted their cognitive development. 

Researchers analyzed the cognitive performances of 672 children born in Rhode Island, 188 of them born well into the pandemic (after July 2020), 308 born before it (prior to January 2019) and 176 of them born during its beginning stage (between January 2019 and March 2020). They found that children born during the pandemic have pronouncedly lower IQs than those born before it.

New research shows that babies born during the coronavirus pandemic have developed differently than those who were born before. Specifically, infants born after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic at the start of 2020 demonstrated reduced cognitive performance.

The researchers from Brown University evaluated child neurodevelopment, which includes verbal and motor skills. Neurodevelopment refers to the brain’s development of neurological pathways, which are responsible for all performance and functioning. This includes intellect, memory, social skills, attention, and more.

Motor skills are one way to evaluate neurodevelopment in young children. They refer to a person’s ability to manage their process of movement, and examples include using hands, walking, swimming, or any other physical activity. Conversely, verbal skills refer to the extent a person can communicate through speech, including how well they can form sentences and pronounce words.

The researchers compared the cognitive performance of the infant participants from 2020 to 2021 to scores recorded in 2011 to 2019. Overall, they saw a significant drop in verbal and non-verbal skills in babies in recent years since the onset of the pandemic. Interestingly, the team found that neurodevelopment scores were lower in the male participants. It was also likely to be reduced in children born to families with low socioeconomic status.

They theorize that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on environmental factors – anything that affects the environment – is the main contributing factor in the lower early development scores.

For example, social distancing as well as closures have limited the amount of education and socialization young children get. The restrictions have also increased the stress of parents. This is coupled by rising financial constraints, all of which have affected the familial environment.

The researchers also theorized that changes in prenatal care may be an explanatory factor. Not only has maternal stress, anxiety, and depression risen, which can affect the development of the fetus, but more women have been wary of attending prenatal appointments amid COVID.

In the conclusion of the study, the researchers noted that it’s unclear if the reduced scores are permanent or only temporary while the pandemic rages on. However, they emphasized that addressing the neurodevelopment differences early on, especially the younger the children are, is imperative.

“It’s not subtle by any stretch,” lead study author and Brown University associate professor of pediatric research Sean Deoni told the Guardian of the trend. “You don’t typically see things like that, outside of major cognitive disorders.”

Authors attribute the pattern to children being cognitively impaired from spending so much time inside with overwhelmed parents during the past year. Not being exposed to the wider world as much as pre-pandemic children and instead spending their infancy with stressed adults has left them at a significant mental disadvantage than their slightly older peers.

2)      How COVID-19 Could Affect Kids’ Long-Term Social Development

短期疫情應該不至於影響社會發展，長期就會有相當程度影響

@Social distancing may be particularly difficult for some children and teens.

@As children get older and more socially adept, their peer group becomes the more important hub of their social development than their immediate family.

@Experts say that while some parents may worry about the impact stay-at-home orders can have on a child’s social development, they will likely bounce back quickly if isolation only lasts a few months.

@Kids may be lonely and in need of some additional attention and support from parents during this time.

The idea of long-term social distancing is daunting for everyone, but perhaps especially so for parents who have now become their children’s main outlet for social interaction. In fact, as we prepare for a longer period of social distancing, many parents may be wondering how all this time away from others could affect the social development of their kids.

Amy Learmonth, PhD, is a developmental psychologist who has studied children as young as 8 weeks old, looking at how they think and how their abilities change over time. She runs the Cognition, Memory, and Development Lab at William Paterson University of New Jersey and is also president of the Eastern Psychological Association. “Social development has important impacts at all ages, but for the purposes of social distancing, the kids who are likely to suffer the most are in late childhood and adolescence,” Learmonth told Healthline. She says early social development can take place mostly within the family, but that as children get older and more socially adept, their peer group becomes the more important hub of social development. “Young children are learning the basics of being social beings, and their parents and siblings can provide most of the input they need, while older children and adolescents are learning to navigate complex social groups of peers,” Learmonth said.

@What healthy social development should look like during those years

“In late childhood and adolescence, children start to strike out on their own,” Learmonth explained. “Friendships become more complex and more about shared interests. This is where children try out the things that will make their adult friendships work, or not.” Among those relationship skills, Learmonth says kids in late childhood and adolescence are learning how to both find and provide support to their friends, developing the skills for building trust and dealing with betrayal.

This is also the time when they’re usually figuring out how to form friendships with deeper roots than just proximity and play.

While those years, and those friendships, can be hard to navigate, they’re also crucial stepping stones to healthy adult relationships later in life. These types of friendships are far more difficult to replicate over screens, or while maintaining 6 feet (or more) of distance.

@How short-term social distancing could affect social development

If social distancing lasts just a few months, most experts agree kids will bounce back just fine. “This generation of teenagers have been virtually socializing with their friends their whole lives,” said developmental psychologist and family coach Cameron Caswell, PhD. “They are used to connecting through their devices and online, so that part of social distancing will likely be easier on them than the rest of us.” She points out that plenty of teens are already adapting to the new social rules, hosting FaceTime sleepovers, long video chats, watching movies as a group through Netflix Party, and gathering virtually on social networks like Houseparty.

“Other than having to deal with boredom (which is actually a good thing) and missing out on some major life milestones like field trips, prom, and graduation, I don’t believe 3 months of social distancing will have a negative impact on this age group,” Caswell said. In fact, she says she thinks it could be an opportunity for families to slow down, reconnect, reset their sleep schedules, and breathe. Learmonth agrees, saying that while kids may be lonely and in need of some additional attention and support, “I would not expect any major disruptions or lasting impacts of a couple of months of social distancing.”

@But what if this stretches on for years?

Both experts agree that a longer-term period of social distancing is when negative effects on social development would begin to develop.

“All humans crave personal interaction, touch, novelty, and excitement. So, I believe prolonged isolation will start to wear tremendously on everyone,” Caswell said.

“Our brains go through their two biggest growth spurts during infancy and adolescence. These are the two periods where our brains are the most malleable and primed for learning,” she said. Caswell adds that adolescence is one of the most formative life stages, explaining that the skills developed, the beliefs formed, and the ways we perceive ourselves and how we interact with the world during this stage play a major role in defining who we become as adults.

“If our teens’ experiences are stunted during this time, if they’re short-changed on opportunities to grow, learn, and develop, I believe the impact from prolonged isolation will be greater on them,” she said.

Caswell further adds that while virtual interactions can be beneficial in the short term, they’re not a satisfactory substitute for real-life interactions.

“The quality of connection and level of intimacy is not the same,” she explained. “The joyous moments brought by subtle interactions and spontaneous responses are lost.”

Walsh agrees, saying it’s the give and take of in-person interactions from which kids gain the most benefit. “That’s where they are learning to share, to take turns, to resolve conflicts — none of which can be accomplished as effectively through screens,” Walsh said.

Caswell adds it’s important to remember much of a child’s social development occurs outside their family and friend groups. “Through school, clubs, and other larger communities, teens learn to meet new people, interact with authority figures, handle group dynamics, and navigate a wide variety of different situations,” she said, explaining that extracurricular activities allow adolescents to explore other interests and uncover more unique aspects of their identity.

“Being isolated at home can dramatically decrease their opportunities for new experiences and self-discovery,” she said.

@Will this impact be greater on children who don’t have siblings?

Parents of a single child (aka an “only child”) may be even more concerned about their social development while social distancing, knowing their son or daughter doesn’t even have a sibling relationship from which they can learn.

However, Learmonth says parents with multiple children should be aware that while “it is possible that only children will be more lonely than children with siblings… sibling relationships, as important as they can be, cannot replace the peer relationships our children are learning to navigate.”

In the end, she says all kids are going to be craving those friendships that simply can’t be replicated at home.

@How parents can help kids continue to socially develop while stuck at home

Both experts shared the following four tips that parents can use to help their children continue positive social development while they’re stuck at home.

1. Provide opportunities for interactive play-Instead of setting younger kids in front of screens and letting them have hours-long conversations with friends, Walsh suggests having them do something interactive, like playing a board game with family members. “That way they have to actually take turns, negotiate, and practice some social skills,” she said. “You can find games that are simple and order them on Amazon.”

2. Give them outs- “Many of our older kids will need someplace to escape the togetherness of quarantine,” Learmonth said. “This is developmentally appropriate. They miss their friends but are also sometimes stressed by the constant presence of their family.” She says parents should remain available to provide support while respecting their need for space. “This is a time of turning toward peer relationships, and we are just not cool anymore. Don’t take this personally. They love you even when they appear to be doing their best to push you away,” she said.

3. Understand their need to be online- “Many teens crave social interaction,” Caswell said. “If we want to keep them inside, it’s important to enable other ways for them to talk with their friends.” She suggests becoming familiar with the apps teens are using. Help them set necessary safety parameters, and let them know you’ll be asking them to show you what they’ve been doing online from time to time.

“Always be transparent about what you do so they learn from it rather than rebel and circumvent your restrictions,” she said.

4. Encourage exercise every day- Learmonth says that while this may sound irrelevant to social development, “it is important to functioning and will help your child keep their equilibrium in these uncertain times.” There are no perfect answers here, and we’re all doing the best we can to navigate these uncharted waters. But Learmonth says the most important thing any parent can do is be kind to themselves and their children. “Children have fewer resources to deal with the stress of this unprecedented time,” she explained, adding that parents should expect their children to sometimes take their frustration out on you, and that you should try to offer support when they do. “We are all dealing with the uncertainty and stress to the best of our ability, and children have less experience and shakier self-regulation. It is unreasonable for us to expect them to handle this as well as we do,” Learmonth said.

3)Exploring Factors That Influence Children’s Growth and Development During a Pandemic

@Kimiya Amjadi, MD, Global Pediatric Health; 8: 1–9. 2021

The potential long-term impacts of natural or man-made disasters on children and adolescents have been the subject of numerous scientific research studies over the past decades. Since the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it has become even more important to continue these investigations in order to address the special needs of our youth.

While the virus itself appears to cause less pathology in them compared to adults, the effects go beyond the disease itself. The pandemic has caused extremely high levels of stress for both the children and their families. As a result, special attention has to be given to the possible long-term impacts on their growth and development. It is very important for physicians and other healthcare providers to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress and monitor for physical and mental health inequities, and to be able to provide support when help is needed. Identifying culturally effective solutions and reaching out to community based organizations or partners for resources and programs with which families identify is an important part of this healing provision. Mind-body therapies and practices such as meditation, visualization, breathing exercises, Movazeneh®, and Tamarkoz® are effective complementary therapies that can be utilized in pediatrics and help children and adolescents learn self-care skills that they could apply throughout their lives.

Health providers should become educated in these safe and noninvasive techniques themselves, and consider them as possible therapeutic approaches for the treatment of stress in their pediatric patients.

As the frequency and intensity of pandemics and global disasters increase around the world, scholars and practitioners must consider and be aware of the special needs of children in different age groups. They require different forms of mental, emotional, social, and physical support than adults. Creating activities to promote health and healthy development, encouraging their participation, preventing toxic stress, being supportive, and improving their access to physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual resources can empower them to take steps toward their health and wellbeing.