Discussing the impact COVID-19 has had on child development using theories in class and an empirical article

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COVID-19 Impact on Child Development
Nikki Nadler
University of Georgia
March 24, 2021

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The current COVID-19 pandemic continues to change lives of people all over the world.
Childhood is the most influential time period for an individual. Children are developing
physically and emotionally and the changes due to the pandemic can strongly impact their
development. Social isolation, school cancelations, mask requirements, etc., affects the family as
a system. It is necessary to address the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic within the family
system in order for children to be able to increase their executive functioning, self-regulation,
and social development.
An important concept of family systems theory is that families have the capacity to
reorganize in response to external forces (Cox & Paley, 2003). This occurs so that families can
adapt and continue to function under new circumstances. During COVID-19, families began
spending more time together because of the social isolation policy. Children were home from
school and daycare and parents were working from home. Children had to adapt to doing school
online and parents had to adapt to helping them do so while also balancing their job. New
patterns emerged in the family system as they adapt to the changed circumstances (Cox & Paley,
2003). There may also be new vulnerabilities in the reorganized family system. According to
Bowlby, “In times of distress or threat, maximizing the sensitivity and protection of one’s
caregiver is the central behavioral goal of the attachment system” (Davies & Woitach, 2008, p.
270). It is important to focus on the marital subsystem during this time because strain on the
marriage is a threat to a child’s emotional security. Exposure to interparental conflict increases
children’s risks for depression, anxiety, and social problems. The availability of support may
foster development of regulation of emotions, self-confidence, and self-efficacy. Parents can
support their children during this time by educating them on COVID-19, maintaining routines,
creating new activities, and managing their own anxiety.

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During COVID-19, there has been an increase of stress and anxiety. Some children may
become anxious due to isolation, uncertainty, and a change in their routine. Stress effects the
brain’s development of cognitive skills that include attention, self-control, flexible thinking, and
working memory (Takabori, 2020). Too much of an increase in dopamine and norepinephrine
indicates that a person is overstimulated and stressed (Blair, 2016). According to Holmes and
Wellman, chronic stress has shown to reduce the size and density of neurons in the prefrontal
cortex and can lead to impairments in the cognitive flexibility as well as working memory.
Anxiety in children during the pandemic can look like moodiness or irritability, tantrums, trouble
sleeping, unable to separate from parents, and reassurance-seeking (Emke, 2020). Parents can
help their children cope with stress by structuring their day with chores, schoolwork, and fun
activities. It is also important that children are still getting exercise and are able to socialize with
friends via technology. Later executive functioning can be predicted by individual differences in
attention, emotion, and the physiological response to stress in infancy and toddlerhood, so it is
important to help children cope with stress of COVID-19 (Blair, 2016).
Executive functioning is one component of a larger system of self-regulation (Blair,
2016). A narrow definition defines self-regulation as the intentional and conscious control of
behavior. The developmental approach defines it as regulation of stress response and of emotion
and attention that occurs outside of conscious awareness, exclusively so during infancy and
toddlerhood. The emotional problems of children increased because of social isolation,
interruption of school and educational activity, family stress, and uncertainty for the future which
occurred in critical moments of their emotional development (Morelli et al., 2020). Children who
have parents with high levels of stress are more likely to externalize their problems and develop
less emotion regulation. Psychological distress interrupts the ability to self-regulate. Positive

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parent-child relationships can help promote children’s effortful self-regulation and reduce their
externalizing behaviors. Parenting behaviors such as facilitating emotional expression like
encouraging their child to talk about their emotions is one way to promote a child’s self-
regulation (Domínguez-Álvarez et al., 2020). Maintaining a child’s routine, social-oriented
reflection, and prosocial involvement is associated with higher levels of emotional regulation
skills.
Cliques are a necessary part of social context during childhood (Ellis & Zarbatany, 2017).
They provide safety and preferential access to resources. Throughout life, individuals are part of
many different groups that shape and constrain members’ behavior. Group membership provides
a sense of identity, safety, inclusion, and preferential treatment. Peer cliques are important
influences on children’s adjustment and behavior. Because of the amount of time children and
youth spend with their peers, peer cliques are associated with members’ well-being. Due to
isolation during the pandemic, children are not able to have that constant safety and security that
their peers provide. This can cause greater loneliness and anxiety. Children are not getting the
cognitive and social stimulation that they would normally get outside their home. Children who
dealt with bullying or social anxiety before the pandemic, might actually find quarantine to be a
relief. Children with mental health issues or an unhealthy home environment are more likely to
struggle from being out of school. Young children are resilient as long as they have at least one
supportive adult in their life. Children that come from a low socioeconomic status are less likely
to have supportive parents in their lives and are more likely to have more developmental issues.
The consequences of being in isolation with parents and siblings depend on age, home
environment, and personality.

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From the age of 0-2, infants are mostly playing by themselves or interacting with adults
so the affect of quarantine on their development is not significant (Grose, 2020). In the preschool
years, children gain moral reasoning from being around other children. During quarantine, they
can learn that from their siblings but for an only child it might be difficult. It is important for
parents to do make believe play with their preschoolers to help their children learn about
creativity and problem-solving. Elementary school children and high schooers find ways to meet
their social needs through virtual interactions or safely meeting up outside. With technology
such as video chat and developmentally appropriate apps, children are able to have some
socialization opportunities.
COVID-19 did not just affect people physically, it also affected many other aspects if
people’s lives. Children were home from school and parents were home from work with little to
no outside interaction. This brought some families closer and some families further apart. New
patterns were created in family systems to adjust to the new way of life caused by the pandemic.
Childhood is a crucial part of life with so much room for growth. It is important that parents and
caregivers create routine in balance in their child’s life during this time to increase executive
functioning, social development, and self-regulation.

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References
Blair, C. (2016). Developmental Science and Executive Function. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 25(1), 3-7. doi:10.1177/0963721415622634
Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (2003). Understanding Families as Systems. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 12(5).
Davies, P. T., & Woitach, M. J. (2008). Children’s Emotional Security in the Interparental
Relationship. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(4).
Domínguez-Álvarez, B., López-Romero, L., Gómez-Fraguela, J. A., & Romero, E. (2020).
Emotion regulation skills in children during the COVID-19 pandemic: Influences on
specific parenting and child adjustment. Children Emotional Regulation and the COVID-
19 Pandemic, 7(3). doi:10.21134/rpcna.2020.mon.2042
Ellis, W. E., & Zarbatany, L. (2017). Understanding Processes of Peer Clique Influence in Late
Childhood and Early Adolescence. Child Development Perspectives, 11(4), 227-232.
doi:10.1111/cdep.12248
Emke, R. (2020, May 15). Anxiety and coping with THE CORONAVIRUS. Retrieved March
22, 2021, from https://childmind.org/article/anxiety-and-coping-with-coronavirus/
Grose, J. (2020, September 30). Will the pandemic socially stunt my kid? Retrieved March 22,
2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/parenting/coronavirus-masks-kids-
socialization.html

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Morelli, M., Cattelino, E., Baiocco, R., Trumello, C., Babore, A., Candelori, C., & Chirumbolo,
A. (2020). Parents and Children During the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Influence of
Parenting Distress and Parenting Self-Efficacy on Children's Emotional Well-
Being. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 584645. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.584645
Takabori, A. (2020, October 06). Children's brain development in the time of covid-19.
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