The Pandemic's Impact On The Development Of Infants and Toddlers

Children born since the start of the pandemic have only known that world. Maybe they've never met anyone outside of their parents - maybe not even their grandparents. Maybe they've never been to a park, or had a birthday party or interacted with another child in person - not to mention, the unavoidable increase in screen time.

Kids a little older, toddlers age 2, or 3, may well not remember such pre-pandemic experiences, either, even though they had them.

This raises a lot of questions about how these young children will come out of this pandemic, both developmentally and socially. How will they respond to the outside world? And are there longer-term, developmental consequences to their isolation? And how can parents best to introduce them into everyday life - the playground, the grocery store, birthday parties?

We take listener calls and discuss with Dr. Marilyn Augustyn, director of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center and professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine. Also joining the conversation are Radio Boston's own Chris Citorik and Jamie Bologna, who are both parents of young children.