Children born in pandemic have poorer communication skills, study finds
At the age of two, babies born during the pandemic have similar behaviour and development compared with children who were born before Covid-19 arrived – with one exception. Their communication skills lag behind those of their predecessors.
These are the intriguing findings of a study – carried out by researchers based at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) – which examined what life was like for babies born during the pandemic, and the implications for their health and development.
The study – carried out by a team led by Susan Byrne, senior lecturer at the RCSI, and Jonathan Hourihane, the RCSI’s professor of paediatrics – focused on babies born in the first three months of lockdown and compared them with a similar group of babies born before the pandemic. A total of 354 families and their babies were involved in the study.
“We wanted to understand what life was like for babies born during the pandemic, and what it might mean for their general health and development,” Byrne told the Observer.
The team’s discoveries were striking. They found that, at six months, an average of only three people had kissed babies, including their parents – indicating babies had met very few relatives or family friends. One in four babies had not met another child their own age by their first birthday, it was also revealed.
Byrne added that when parents were asked what it felt like to raise a child during lockdown they frequently used words such as “lonely” and “isolating”. On the other hand, it was also found that family time and bonding expanded.
Babies born during the pandemic probably heard fewer words because they were not getting out of their houses, and this may have led to their slightly lower communication scores compared with those of children born earlier.
However, for other attributes – such as motor skills and problem-solving ability – no overall drop in performance was recorded. In addition, questionnaires filled in by parents revealed no differences in their children’s behaviour with regard to sleep problems, anxiety or social withdrawal.
Now the group is hoping to extend the study and follow babies until they start school at the age of five. “That is going to be really important,” Byrne told the Observer.
“Covid restrictions ended quite a while ago, and babies have been out and about doing normal activities, meeting other people, going to play groups. And you’d hope that the findings would settle by the age of five – but we need to find out conclusively if that is really the case.”
The relatively encouraging conclusions of the Irish study contrast with the academic performances of older children.
Last week it was revealed that primary school pupils in England were still doing worse in mathematics and writing compared with standards that were established before the pandemic forced school closures. Reading performance was also found to have stalled.
Standard assessment tests (Sats), taken in England at the end of primary school, showed a slight improvement on last year but results remained far behind 2019, according to figures released last week. Tests were not taken in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid disruption.
Fewer than three-fifths of pupils are reaching the expected standard in the key subjects of reading, writing and maths, it was found. This year’s figure of 59% is down from 65% before lockdown and is considerably lower than the government’s target of 90% of pupils meeting the expected standard in all three disciplines at key stage 2 by 2030.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The results confirm the point made by teachers and researchers: primary schools are still deeply affected by the pandemic, and Sats worsen this already difficult situation. Funding is inadequate.
“Class sizes are growing. The jobs of support staff have been cut. There is no substantial programme to support educational recovery.”
生词记录
exception 例外
lag 缓慢移动；掉队，滞后
predecessor 前任，前辈；原有事物，前身
intriguing 非常有趣的；引人入胜的；神秘的
surgeon 外科医生
implication 可能的影响（或作用、结果）；含意；暗指，暗示
paediatrics 儿科学
lockdown 封锁
striking 异乎寻常的，惊人的；引人注目的；显著的；不同寻常的
bonding 人与人之间的关系（或联结）；亲密关系的形成
withdrawl 沉默寡言；孤僻；收回；不再参加；退出（组织）；撤军
contrast 对比
stall 推迟，暂缓；搁置；停止进展；货摊，摊位；售货亭
discipline 知识领域；（尤指大学的）学科，科目，专业；惩罚，惩罚；训练，教导；自我控制；严格要求（自己）
substantial 大的；可观的；价值巨大的；重大的；基本上的；大体上的
