To ask teachers and parents if Covid still has an impact on kids four years on

[Backtoit123]

Just that really. Four years on don’t still notice a major effect on children from the pandemic. I’ve heard teenagers say they feel a few years younger due to their ‘pandemic age’ but my DC are grown up and I don’t work in teaching so it’s hard to know. Do you recognise a major difference in kids now compared to kids of the same age before Covid? AIBU to ask if the pandemic still has left a legacy on children’s development?
YABU- no it doesn’t
YANBU- yes it does

Massively. I have 3 DCs and also work with young people and there are still huge impacts, mainly on mental health and school attendance
(which obviously interconnect).

Yes. Lots more anxiety, and many children didn’t come back to education.

I'm a secondary school teacher of 20+.years. Yep, behaviour and attitudes have been a massive issue and colleagues in different places say the same.

My baby born in the pandemic has a speech issue but that might not be down to the pandemic- she has an older sister so we was hardly isolated.
The pandemic absolute ruined by nephews secondary school experience- he hates it! I totally blame that on the pandemic- he missed so much of years 7-9 and basically went straight in at GCSE level full time. He never had a sports day and missed out on that integral time when he would have learned to socialise independently. Consequently he’s less than enthusiastic about post GCSE studying!

DD has only recently stopped worrying about lockdown returning and be willing to make friends again. She didn't want to be close to anyone in case they disappeared again.

Just turned 7 then, now nearly 11.

DD is in reception. I don't have much to compare to but her class teacher, who has been teaching approx 20 years, says this years kids are the most noticeably covid affected she's had yet.

They'd have been at crucial socialisation age when all the restrictions were in place so I can see how those who weren't at nursery could have been particularly affected.

I think some late teen/early 20's kids will also be quite affected from their uni experiences being very restricted and so uni not giving them the "growing up" bit that most students do when living away from home for the first time.

It is 4 years on from the start of the pandemic, but less than 2 years since restrictions fully went.
My DD is still impacted, she was y10 4 years ago.

Yes- my 2 covid babies and me suffered with next to no support in their early months/years and it really shows in their development and my mental health.

Yes massively. There's so much more anxiety especially in primary aged children and the children definitely seem much younger/behind socially especially the current year 1s and 2s.

Theres also a huge amount of children who didn't get early intervention such as SALT etc during the pandemic so problems which would normally be resolved with early support are still there many years down the line.

My own children are 4 & 5 - one in year 1 and one in nursery. They are absolutely fine.

My class who are almost at the end of primary have been majorly affected along with the last few years I’ve seen of the classes leaving primary - mental health, self esteem, resilience and knowing how to deal with any friendship issues are huge problems now.

when pupils came back after covid the government were worried about all the nursery age children starting school but it’s actually the ones who missed the early years of school who have been let down the most.

Don’t even get me started on spelling!

It is widely documented that it is having an ongoing impact.

Mental health, physical health, attainment, attendance. Then the wider impacts of poverty and public service breakdown/backlogs.

I teach in higher ed, and there is a huge Covid legacy with undergrads. Many students are way behind where we’d normally expect in terms of basic skills of taking responsibility for their learning, time management, independence etc. Also a huge rise in students struggling with mental health issues and anxiety (which may or may not be connected to the pandemic but the timing suggests there may be a link).

Enormously. I teach Reception.
Last year the children had absolutely no resilience whatsoever. They were emotional wrecks - I felt like a social worker more than a teacher. This year it’s worse and next year is on a whole other level (I have them for nursery too). These were all babies during covid! My current nursery were born into it!

Also physical effects
https://www.unicef.org/parenting/health/long-COVID-children

I would say yes, my DD (11) said the other day she wished we were still in lockdown. She was a happy carefree little girl with lots of friends. She's now constantly anxious, has a few solid friends but not like before, she hates crowded spaces, won't go to big cities whereas before Covid we regularly had shopping trips, theatre trips etc to large cities. She used to love the Christmas light switch on, now she's too anxious to go. It's so hard to see how much it changed her, I keep hoping time and new experiences will improve it but it's been a long time now so who knows.

It is still massively affecting adults too.

I speak to many people at work who say they don't feel the way they remember feeling before COVID. HR departments are often reporting the post-COVID impacts on health, mental health and engagement.

I myself find it harder to be bothered to book things in advance - a hangover of everything getting cancelled repeatedly.

I don’t believe it has had any lasting affect me or my children whatsoever.

The biggest difference I see is in DC who are younger than mine, the ones who were babies or preschoolers during lockdown.

My 14yo is ridiculously immature compared to his 17yo sister. She thrived in lockdown as she loves to study but hates the other kids disrupting etc, so she loved just being able to listen to the teacher talk. DS ended up back in school in a keyworker space as he couldn't cope with the anxiety, and that anxiety hasn't left him really.

Hugely. My eldest is in year 5 and is so anxious. He had no prep for juniors and was already a sensitive kid, but having so much time away has really hindered his ability to progress socially. I also wonder if the gap meant that some neurodivergence has been missed but that's a tricky one, as alot of his traits could just be put down to his anxiety and lack of confidence. My youngest has just started reception, he seems fine as does my middle one who is y3, albeit we don't get much feedback!

One of the biggest physical differences is the significant increase in childhood obesity during the lockdown years. Not seen any evidence that this has been reversed either.

Then I'd consider you and your children very fortunate but I'm not sure why you think your tiny sample size is relevant or pertinent to the question asked?

Agree. I'm early years and it's just constant screaming and anxiety, no ability to play, no verbal skills...

Also none of us can really know the ways in which we would be in better shape if COVID hadn't happened.

Well of course we can't but honestly I don't think this is one of those situations where being a parent giving an opinion is helpful. Those who have worked with children pre and post the pandemic are all in agreement it's had a very clear impact.