Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on preschool kids a mixed bag

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-11-17 03:00

International

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Canadian scientists say preschool kids exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country have better problem-solving skills and fine movement skills compared with kids who grew up before the pandemic, but they have lower personal-social skills. At age four and a half, the children who grew up through the pandemic had better vocabulary, visual memory, and overall thinking abilities compared with pre-pandemic children. The findings suggest medical staff and teachers will likely encounter a mix of pandemic-related outcomes in young children as they plan recovery efforts following the pandemic, the experts say.

Media release

From: JAMA

Cognitive and Emotional Well-Being of Preschool Children Before and During the Pandemic

About The Study: Pandemic-exposed children (assessment after March 11, 2020) had significantly higher problem solving and fine motor skills at 24 months of age but lower personal-social skills compared with non-exposed children in this study including data from the Ontario Birth Study. At 54 months of age, pandemic-exposed children had significantly higher vocabulary, visual memory, and overall cognitive performance compared with non-exposed children.

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Research JAMA, Web page The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Toronto, Canada

Funder: Funding for the Ontario Birth Study has been provided by Mount Sinai Hospital, the Sinai Health Foundation, the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (No. UIP-179214; principal investigator, Dr Knight).

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