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

As a parent of a just turned 7 year old, I don't think he has been too affected, if at all. We were both key workers during lockdown so he still continued to go to his usual 2 x a week nursery, and he wasn't of the cohort that did most of reception online so he has had a normal school and social experience really.

We didn't really talk to him much about the pandemic when it was happening, but a family we know told their son (same age as my DS at the time so then aged 3) all the details, about how people were dying all over the world from a disease you could catch from breathing etc and wondered why their then pretty chilled out kid was waking screaming from nightmares. That kid is still pretty messed up, so I think how much a young child was shielded from the pandemic in terms of knowledge also has a big role.

So my eldest was in y6 when the restrictions and lockdowns started. She then started secondary later that year. They did a lot of online learning although she was allowed into school due to being autistic and also me being a teacher. At the primary they only let her in school 2 days as I only work 2 days for her key worker place. But secondary they acknowledged she needed a routine and she was allowed in full time.

At 14 she doesn’t socialise or hang out with friends. I’m not sure of this is an autistic trait or just the fact that they weren’t allowed to congregate when they were just at the age they would have started to, so never practised it. There were so many rule to follow such as how many people could be out together etch that she was always worried about getting into trouble so never did go out in the end. She has friends at school, and she sometimes keeps in touch with them via what’s app. Her group don’t seem to go out, even with out her. But o have seen groups of kids from her year from out and about.

She missed a lot from school such as practical science, food tech, drama and music group sessions as they were so altered to be done online individually.

My Youngest just started secondary this school year. She was y3/4 when the pandemic started. I do think she has been less affected but this could also be as she’s not autistic. She’s enjoying getting out and about with her friends, lots of new friends, and a new found freedom. She’s enjoying all the activities that my eldest never got at school and it’s becoming more obvious through what she’s being offered how much my eldest lost out on.

I would say the same, but do know of others who have been impacted. I think we were very lucky as we had to close our hospitality business down for the duration so spent a lot of time with our (then) primary aged children. They are mature for their age and (for the most part) enjoy school.

My two are current year 10 and will be sitting triple science. I didn’t realise that there had been a drop in this.

I’m quite glad that we were a bit lax and chatted to neighbours and friends whilst having our daily walks. We didn’t see vulnerable family throughout though. It all seems ridiculous when you look back on it.

We didn't stick to the rules beyond the first couple of months either, and I too feel very glad of it. I think that plus as a pp said, shielding DC from the worst of the stories about it, has been beneficial. Especially as we were in an area of local restrictions in 2020. But not everyone had the opportunity to do this, you had to have people you trusted who were willing and able to meet up.

I definitely feel like my 14yo and her friends are behind socially and in terms of independence, compared to how my group of friends was at that age (and I'd say we were comparable groups in terms of interests/personality types).

As you say, just as they hit the age where they'd have been going out more and meeting up with friends independently, suddenly they were told not only were they not allowed, but that if they did it could endanger lives, and they could be in trouble with the police. Not ideal...

Yep - I can vouch for the online SALT training being iffy in elements... I had the year where we did all our dysphagia teaching disrupted. No dysphagia placement - and all online training, so I never got to SEE a swallow clinically, let alone work with dysphagia clients - and it's been a huge gap in my confidence and skills coming out into the workplace which I've had to work my arse off to address.

Also the loss of a huge chunk of the student cohorts that were training during it as well - I think we lost about 10 students, which out of a cohort of 35 is a bloody huge loss - they just couldn't cope with the online learning bit. Some have since qualified, but not all.

We've had one B5 vacancy out to advertisement since June and still it's unfilled - just can't get an acceptable candidate (and all they're looking for really is interest and potential to learn with our client group).

We're also now picking up the people who were seen virtually during the pandemic in my service - where the input offered wasn't what we would have liked to provide and they've come back in as referrals now - which is impacting in all sorts of ways. There are things that my area of SALT can do well online - which we do now pick up as a quick piece of online advice and providing resources to staff teams... but there are a lot of things that are shite delivered online and just kicked the can down the road in terms of things being fucked up.

My SIL teaches primary and she says her kids are noticeably more child-like (for their calendar age) and less socialised than kids of the same age group before Covid.

I don't know for sure if lockdown has made an impact on people but my guess it probably has.

Youngest DC is in Year 1, she and the rest of her classmates catch every single bug/virus going and all of their attendance is awful.

I have put it down to her being in a small nursery 'bubble' and children her age not spending as much time mixing in soft play/other children/parks as others and so missed out on catching everything at nursery/pre school.

She has older DC and they weren't like this and her classmates parents say the same.

Some of the virus immunity isnt even from uk lockdowns action but the whole world as australia didnt open up for years nor did china.
But yes soft play closure probably did make a difference.

My dc class donr seem sickly y3. However we were hit several times with covid as its a douvle entry and near a city so exposure was probably not far off usual. I think the reception chicken pox outbreak was larger than usual.

I think with the speech maybe ipads need to be limited. In situations where there maybe conversation so car with several people or meals out.

I don't get this. My youngest is in year 1 too. She missed a few months of a one morning a week music class. But sue started ballet as soon as DC1 started school, a full two years before she started school. Nursery was totally back to normal then, seeing friends at weekends was all normal, playgroups were all back on and she'd had over a year of normal playgroups and nursery before lockdown.

I don't see how any of that altogether could have an impact on immunity unless you were putting yourself in far greater restrictions than were required.

I think on a population level, reducing the total number of contacts a child has before starting school is likely to reduce exposure to some viruses that are in general circulation.

It might not make much difference on an individual level. But if pre covid eg 15 of 30 DC might've had chicken pox before reception and the reduced contacts mean its now 12 of 30 (figures guessed at to make point) that's going to mean a lot more absences due to chicken pox on a national scale. Remember as well some DC are in areas where there were local restrictions, and some didn't go to childcare so things like playgroups stopping will have reduced one of their main methods of exposure.