Will this have a detrimental impact...

[Thewheelsonthebus23]

On children’s development? Both socially and emotionally?
My DS is 19 months and an only child.
He doesn’t even seem very comfortable to be around his grandparents, even though we saw them regularly since he was first born. I guess the keeping the distance part of it is too weird for him.
I feel like he’s missing out on so much social interaction with other children. They mirror each other’s play at this age too. It makes me so sad and anxious

It won't OP. I understand your worry and concern. But at that age the child is happy to be with his/her caregiver. If he is well looked after and in a loving environment, he will flourish with all the time he spends with you. That's all he needs. Love to you and your little one.

Thank you for your kind reply. I’m trying to think rationally, but it’s so hard lately.

My little one is slightly older but he seems ok. I wouldn’t bother trying to keep distance with grandparents. Just try to minimise any other exposure you and grandparents have - creating a mini bubble of your families.

Children are super resilient

I don’t think you need to worry about major lasting developmental damage but I do think there will be some impact on some children of the covid restrictions.

Luckily at your sons age you, as his parent, will be providing a lot of what he needs for his development. Maybe just look at alternative ways of keeping links with other people (eg grandparents reading bedtime books via face time etc) and maybe do what interaction you can depending on your level of risk.

I think there is balance between taking action help
Protect the vulnerable from the virus and having enough social interaction and activity to keep us well and happy.

I think at 19 months you'll be ok. I'm more concerned abut my 3yo.

No one knows. It’s an unusual situation to be in, bit like a social experiment.

My kids are affected now socially for sure, long term? Who knows. Their mental health is fine, they just get bored which is minor compared to what other people’s kids are going through. They miss their friends so much.

My youngest is five very soon and wears glasses. He has had his next hospital eye test cancelled for at least 12 months. He is at a crucial time for eye development and his eyes may never be at driving standard because of this (this is the time where connections from your brain sync to your eyes and not something that can be rectified at a later age). He is also missing out on his speech therapy. He cannot read or write and I have been unable to teach him this during the lockdown due to WFH. I hope he can catch up when he returns. He knows all his basic phonics, and very short words.

Sensible responses so far.

You have options. Depending on the level of vulnerability of your parents and your level of exposure through work, you could form a bubble as fascinated suggests.

Otherwise, it should be fairly easy to enable your child to mix. I have a 3 and a half year old girl, only child. My overriding aim throughout has been to provide opportunities for her to socialise and learn these skills, even to the detriment of my own mental health sometimes as I have social anxiety, and I have done everything in my power to avoid her suffering the same fate. We abided by the strict lockdown rules in the beginning, but we have recently allowed her to play with neighbours, friends (even a random kid in the park - that was my husband!) - always with respect to the wishes of other parents and with adults keeping the distance - and she is now back in preschool.

At first I thought it wouldn’t but the longer this goes on the more I believe it will