MADISON, Wis. — Many things have changed for kids because of the pandemic, even simple things like going to the park and playing with people they may never see again. Now, being told to keep their distance from others, children are missing out on key developmental interactions.
COVID-19 has been a learning experience for everyone, especially young children like Theodora and new parents Narayan and Allison.
“Raising her is a challenge, as is raising any child,” said Narayan Mahon.
Since the pandemic, Theodora’s parents say they walked a fine line when it came to introducing her to new people and taking her places.
“Anytime we introduce her to someone new, especially when they come into our house, it’s always like gosh is this okay? Are you safe? Are you being responsible?” said Allison Redpath Mahon.
At 18 months old, Theodora is at an age where UW Health psychologist Greg Rogers says separation and stranger anxiety is normal.
“Kids that serve 6 months to 18 months or 2 years are going through a normal stage of separation anxiety or stranger anxiety,” said Rogers. “That may be intensified when there hasn’t been the usual socialization and exposure to those situations.”
But all kids and families go through different challenges.
“Different kids and different families are experiencing this pandemic in different ways. When we talk about the impact of the pandemic, it’s not so much a direct impact for all those families where somebody didn’t contract the virus but it’s all mediated and moderated by stress and the families resources and ability to cope,” said Rogers.
Different age groups experienced different changes. Older age groups, who live a life outside the home, had to adapt to online schooling while also being unable to attend anticipated events like prom or walking at graduation.
For infants, social interaction and retention to behavior was altered.
“Kids are learning by observing the adults in their world and how they act, picking up on those cues. So there’s a lot of kids who have been learning the last year that you have to be careful how close you get to another person, whether you touch them or not, and that’s very different from kids raised outside this pandemic,” said Rogers.
Narayan Mahon says going to the playground can be a hard situation to navigate. Kids are interested in each other, and when they come to play with Thea, he has to question if that is safe for her.
“I don’t want to give off this message of fear to Theodora either that she’s going to catch onto because she looks to me, looks to us, for reactions on how to feel about situations so if I react out of fear she’s going to learn from that,” said Narayan.
The pandemic is now, but it’s not forever. Parents are trying to teach just that.
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