Children who were babies and toddlers during the COVID-19 pandemic are showing signs of delays in developmental and academic skills in school, The New York Times reported.
Younger students are struggling with fine motor skills, such as holding pencils, and social skills, including playing with other children and communicating needs, the NYT reported, citing interviews with dozens of educators, pediatricians and early childhood experts. The pandemic appears to have disrupted early development in children who were at an age where they typically are at home by not being around as many adults, not being able to play with peers and being increasingly behind screens.
“I spent a long time just teaching kids to sit on the carpet for one book. That’s something I didn’t need to do before,” David Feldman, a kindergarten teacher in Florida, told the NYT.
Some preschoolers are struggling to properly control their emotions and show violence by throwing objects and hitting others, the NYT reported.
“We are talking 4- and 5-year-olds who are throwing chairs, biting, hitting, without the self-regulation,” Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of National Head Start Association, told the outlet. (RELATED: Math Scores Around The US Plunge As Students Suffer From Learning Loss)
Back view of a child, a 4-year-old girl, climbing the stairs to go to nursery school in Lyon, France on 4 June 2024. (Photo by Antoine Boureau / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ANTOINE BOUREAU/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
Children are also struggling with physical strength, and Michigan preschool teacher Sarrah Hovis told the NYT some struggle to open a bag of chips. Michaela Frederick, a pre-K teacher in Tennessee, explained she replaced smaller building materials with larger, soft blocks to help students be able to manipulate them.
“They don’t have the muscle strength because everything they are doing at home is screen time. They are just swiping,” Hovis told the NYT.
The pandemic also impacted older children as schools reverted to online learning during school closures. Students in elementary school who utilized virtual learning were set back more than half a year in math, the NYT previously reported.
“If the pandemic was the break in the dam, it has been plugged, and we are seeing the reservoir of learning fill back up. While we’re not where we need to be, the investments of the American Rescue Plan, the Administration’s clear guidance and strong implementation, and the heroic efforts of America’s educators have helped us turn the corner,” a U.S. Department of Education spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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