Babies born during the pandemic may have delayed communication skills
Babies born during Covid lockdowns seem to have taken longer to reach developmental milestones like pointing and talking. But the delays are likely not permanent.
Babies born into Covid-related lockdowns have taken longer to reach certain developmental milestones than babies born pre-pandemic, a study found.
Before Covid hit, parents commonly observed infants pointing at objects by 9 months old. By 1 year, many babies were saying their first words.
But the new study, published Tuesday by researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, found that Irish infants born from March to May 2020 had a harder time communicating at 1 year old than those born between 2008 and 2011 had.
Around 89% of the infants studied who were born between 2008 and 2011 could articulate a full word like "bowl" or "cup" at 12 months old, compared to around 77% of infants born during the early months of the pandemic. The share of infants who could point at objects fell from 93% to 84%, and the portion who could wave goodbye fell from 94% to 88%.
The results were based on a questionnaire given to parents of 309 babies in Ireland during the pandemic. Around each infant's first birthday, their parents were asked whether the baby could perform 10 different tasks, such as standing up or stacking bricks. The researchers then compared those results to a longitudinal study that assessed the same 10 skills between 2008 and 2011. Both groups of parents were asked to complete the surveys as close to their child’s birthday as possible.
Rating: 5