The Covid lockdowns may have inflicted long-term harm on children’s brain development, an alarming new study has found. TheMailhas the story.
The research, led by the University of East Anglia, found that the pandemic hampered children’s ability to regulate their behaviour, stay focused and adapt to new situations – skills known collectively as executive functions.
The greatest impact was seen among pupils in reception, aged four to five, when the first lockdowns began in March 2020.
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This age bracket is a crucial stage when children normally learn to socialise, follow routines and navigate the busy world of the classroom, but millions of youngsters were forced to stay home and be taught either online, or by their parents.
The children in this cohort are now around 10 to 11 years old, in their final year of primary school.
The research, published in the journalChild Development, found these children showed less growth in their self-regulatory and cognitive flexibility scores over time compared to a second group of children who were in preschool when the pandemic started.
The researchers from the University of East Anglia, Lancaster University and Durham University say these children may still be feeling the effects years later.
Scientists were already running a long-term study tracking youngsters from toddlerhood to early school years when the Covid pandemic hit.
The study followed 139 children aged between two-and-a-half and six-and-a-half years old over several years, including 94 families who joined the study before Covid struck.
Source: SGT Report
