National Institute for Health and Care Research

Webinar highlights – Parents’ Perceptions of the Impact on their Child’s Development during Covid-19 Lockdown: Findings from a Study

June 14, 2024

We welcomed Debra Laxton, Lianna Wilding, and Lorna Earle (University Chichester) as the speakers for our Supporting Early Minds Research Network webinar in June 2024.

They presented findings from a research study conducted during the 2020 lockdown focused on Personal, Social, and Emotional Development (PSED) in two-year-olds, examining parents’ perceptions of the lockdown’s impact on their child’s development.

The study examined the impact of pause in Early Years provision and specifically looked at two year-olds because the benefits for this age bracket in formal childcare settings is less certain that it is for over threes.

It has a significant data set, including responses from 827 parents of which 6% received funding for two year-olds.

39% of parents felt that the overall impact of lockdown was positive while 27% reported it as negative. There was a balance in responses between parents feeling their child missed out on their regular activities while others felt they had developed a closer bond through the lockdown.

A loss of face to face contact and support from wider family and friends was keenly felt and seen as a negative aspect. Parents also reported anxiety and described their children as clingy around other adults while outdoors. The two year-olds had clearly absorbed some information about coronavirus, with some saying things such as pointing at passers-by through the window and asking ‘Can I hug them after lockdown?’.

Time was an over-riding theme across the responses. Time impacted positively in terms of the quality of the home learning environment and daily activities for families. There was more time to development relationships with close family members and time to engage with a wider range of activities and experiences. It was specifically noticed that fathers had more time to be actively engaged with their children.

The families seemed to see a link between this time and the acquisition of language and vocabulary. A similar impact was noted on milestones, with parents reporting that they potty-trained their children earlier than they would have done if they had still been attending a formal early childcare setting, noting in the qualitative responses that ‘We have seized the opportunity and are potty training during lockdown’.

Reflections from the findings are that it could be beneficial to adopt a ‘slow pedagogy’ or ‘responsive pedagogy’ within formal early year childcare settings. More 1:1 situations for children are beneficial. With the roll-out of new funding, more children may access early childcare settings and with the change of ratios since this data was collected, this may lead to less responsive interactions and time.

It was reflected that more choice and support for families would be beneficial so that those parents who wish to stay at home before their child turns three are able to do so. However, researchers acknowledged that this is a very difficult area and that there are also benefits to children engaging and becoming accustomed to childcare settings.

You can watch the full webinar on the Supporting Early Minds website.

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