The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood development

Belinda Knowles

Pre-Prep Early Years Teacher

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

on early childhood development

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There is a long-held appreciation of the importance of play-based learning for children in the early years of education. Through play, a child develops essential skills in preparation for brain development and healthy cognitive growth; however, what if a child is not afforded this opportunity? From birth to age five, a child’s brain develops more than at any other time in their life. At birth, the average child’s brain is about a quarter the size of the average adult brain (Berk 2006); however, by age of five, the brain has grown to about 90 per cent of its full adult size (Berk 2006). A child is born already having all their brain cells (neurons) that they will have to develop and use for their entire lifetime. However, it is the connections (synapses) between these cells that are required to be built to enable the child to develop physical movement, cognitive function, social interaction, and emotional regulation (Berk 2006; Ray 2016). It is during these first five years of a child’s life that these crucial connections are made through the child’s natural curiosity and play. This early brain development has a lasting impact on a child’s ability to be a successful learner and adult. Science has shown us that for healthy neural development the child must be immersed in three conditions: secure relationships, a safe environment, and positive interactions (Van der Kolk 2014). The combination of these three conditions in the child’s first years of life provides them with the best opportunity for the structural brain development of their limbic system, prefrontal cortex, and brainstem (Van der Kolk 2014).

How brain connections are built: attachment, environment, and interactions

Theorists such as Bowlby (Holmes 2003), Ainsworth (1985) Piaget (1999), and Vygotsky (1978) believe that a child’s cognitive growth develops with their brain structures over time as the child employs play and curiosity as their mode of learning. Beginning in infancy, the child is thrust into a world that requires interaction for understanding. For an infant to process their new surroundings, it is essential that they feel safe and protected. Bowlby (Holmes 2003) and Ainsworth (1985) believe this initial stage of cognitive development best occurs in what they term a ‘secure’ attachment. This secure relationship begins with the child’s primary caregiver and is later shared with the child’s teacher. It is characterised by the shared bond between the child and the adult (Ainsworth 1985). A secure attachment is built on responsive interactions between the child and their caregiver. In the early years, attachment and brain architecture is shaped using a ‘serve and return’ play response (Holmes 2003). For example, a child babbles or cries, and the adult responds appropriately with eye contact, words, or physical touch. Neurologically, this interaction begins to build connections in the brain that support the child’s development of communication and social skills ready for playful learning interactions throughout childhood. Piaget’s (1999) theory of cognitive development continues to build on our understanding of a child’s mental processing. His theory focused on the nature and development of human intelligence, specifically with the nature of knowledge itself and how children gradually acquire, construct, and use it (Piaget 1999). Children in the early years employ their five senses through play to explore their environment and gather information to develop an understanding of the world around them (Piaget 1999). Critical to this exploration is the child’s belief that they are safe within their surroundings, which encourages further investigation. Ultimately, Piaget’s theory relies on the child having a safe environment to explore their curiosity in experiences to build their cognitive understanding and schemes. Vygotsky (1978) focused on a child’s cognitive functions based on their social interactions, believing that children were born with four primary mental functions – attention, sensation, perception, and memory – and it is the child’s social and cultural environment that allows them to use these skills to develop and gain cognitive functioning. Vygotsky continues by stating that the child should be supported by a knowledgeable adult or caregiver that carefully scaffolds the child’s learning. This learning distance is what he termed the Zone of Proximal Development or ZPD. Like Piaget’s theory, which relies on a safe environment for exploration, Vygotskian theory is based on the child’s need to have a supportive, knowledgeable, and attentive caregiver for neural development (Vygotsky 1978; Piaget 1993). However, what happens if there is a disruption during this development and a child does not have the opportunity for positive interactions with their

Fear and Anxiety Affect the Brain Architecture of Learning and Memory

caregivers, a safe environment that ultimately supports the child’s play development, or a protective and secure relationship?

COVID-19 as a traumatic event

Little research has been conducted to understand the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our youngest learners; only time will uncover the full effect. Regardless, COVID-19 has influenced a child’s ability to engage in secure relationships, safe environments, and social interactions that develop their cognitive functioning in preparation for learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many disruptions to the lives of our children. Like many countries around the globe, Australia introduced unprecedented restrictions on society to limit the spread of the virus, including lockdowns, social distancing, mask wearing, and the closures of schools. Let’s consider how these measures impacted our youngest learners. When we consider COVID-19, the word ‘trauma’ might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But this pandemic has challenged us in ways that we could never have imagined. The definition of trauma is constantly evolving as new information from research comes to light. However, broadly speaking, trauma is caused by a series of events, or a single significant, stressful, or prolonged event that occurs outside the range of usual human experience (Steele & Malchiodi 2012). Using this definition, the COVID-19 pandemic, along with its associated restrictions, fits this description. It has been long endured and stressful and has created a sense of uncertainty in children. Work by Van der Kolk (2002) and Immordino-Yang and Damasio (2007) has discovered that when a child experiences a trauma, such as the pandemic, whether consciously or subconsciously, the limbic system (emotions) overrides the child’s prefrontal cortex (reasoning). Consequently, the child’s brain and body respond to the trauma in a physiological manner by SUNATA 41

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prioritising survival over learning (play). Consequently, due to the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, children in the early years have suffered a traumatic event that has impacted their development.

Impact on brain development Attachment and social interaction

For many families, lockdowns and closures of schools have meant an imposed isolation. Dealing with isolation has been particularly stressful for parents. Many were required to quickly learn how to balance personal life, work, and raising children alone without their usual support and resources such as extended family or early care facilities. This situation placed the parents at a higher risk of experiencing distress, impairing their ability to be supportive caregivers, and impacting the bond of a secure attachment (Ainsworth 1985). From a development standpoint, this has impacted the child’s ability to create secure attachments. The child’s primary caregiver is often left balancing both work and family commitments in the home environment, which impacts the adult carer’s mental health. The child then struggles to receive the serve and return process required for attachment, which consequently delays the development of the child’s prefrontal cortex that processes interpersonal signals necessary for social interaction between individuals (Schore 2001). Isolation has also limited the child’s ability to form, connect, and converse with similarly aged peers. This interaction is heavily reliant on play and assists the child in developing their ability to form a communication style and regulate their emotions (Berk 2006). This isolation has meant little to no access to extended family, thus placing additional mental distress and financial pressures on parents.

Environment

Alongside the impact on attachment is the effect on families to provide a child with a safe environment to explore. Many parents had a difficult time dealing with the additional pressures and fear of the COVID-19 virus, and for some, this anxiety was inadvertently passed on to their children. Much of this fear may have been initiated from the lack of knowledge and understanding of the impact that contracting the virus may have on our children. As a result, some families began limiting their child’s exploration of their environment by imposing their own restrictions on their children, such as removal from educational settings (Baxter 2021). This limitation placed on the child removed their confidence to explore their environment and construct their understanding of the world through play and investigation. Subsequently, the pandemic impacted the child’s conditions for typical brain development. It prevented the child’s engagement in play to form secure attachments, explore their environment, and interact with their peers. These key indicators for future success have now changed the structural development of the child’s brain, which has consequences for their education, learning, and future success.

Conclusion

We need to accept that all children who are now at the beginning of their formal years of education have been subjected to a traumatic event. Therefore, the relationships we form with children and the learning space that we provide them have never been more vital.

Moving forward, this is a pivotal opportunity for education to explore curriculum decision-making, and teaching and learning practices. We must provide this current generation with the conditions required for healthy neural development to ensure they are given the best opportunity to grow into healthy adults. If we fail in doing this, the full impact may not be understood until 2035 when this generation is moving into adulthood.

References

Ainsworth, MDS 1985, ‘Patterns of infant–mother attachment: antecedents and effects on development’, Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med, vol. 61, no. 9, pp. 771-791. Baxter, J 2021, Families in Australia Survey Report no. 3: Childcare in 2020, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne. Berk, L E 2006, Child Development, Pearson International, USA. Holmes, J 1993, John Bowlby and Attachment Theory, Routledge, London. Immordino-Yang, MH & Damasio, A 2007, ‘We Feel, Therefore We Learn: The Relevance of Affective and Social Neuroscience to Education’, Mind, Brain and Education, vol. 1, no.1, pp. 3-10. Piaget, J 1999, Play, dreams and imitation in childhood, Routledge, London. Ray, D 2016, A therapist’s guide to child development: the extraordinarily normal years, Routledge, New York. Schore, AN 2001, ‘Effects of a secure attachment relationship on right brain development, affect regulation, and infant mental health’, Infant Mental Health Journal, vol. 22, no. 1-2, pp. 7-66. Steel, W & Malchiodi, CA 2012, TraumaInformed practice with children and adolescents. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, New York. Van der Kolk, BA 2014, The body keeps score: mind, brain, and body in the transformation of trauma, Penguin Books, London. Van der Kolk, BA 2002, ‘Beyond the talking cure: Somatic experience and subcortical imprints in the treatment of trauma’, in F Shapiro (ed.), EMDR as an integrative psychotherapy approach: Experts of diverse orientations explore the paradigm prism, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. Vygotsky, LS 1978, ‘The Role of Play in Development’, in M Cole, V John-Steiner, S Scribner, E Souberman (eds), Mind in Society, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.