Itβs not just adults who miss their friends during this pandemic. For young children, it has uprooted the world of social interaction they receive from day cares, schools and scheduled play dates, socialization thatβs important for their development and emotional health.
Elena Nicole Britton 42, has a 7-year-old and a 1-year-old. While her younger one hasnβt noticed that much has changed, her older child, Blythe, has found staying at home difficult. Some days sheβs in high spirits, but other days she canβt help but miss her friends.
βSheβs very sensitive. It was hard for her to articulate whatβs happened,β said Britton. To help her, Britton has decided to let Blythe go on play dates with a few local families. They make sure to wear masks. Britton trusts the other families, who keep their kids at home if they feel sick and try not to leave the house.
The meetings always take place outside, with regular summer activities like running through sprinklers and playing with water balloons. Britton came to the decision to have play dates because she knew how important it was for Blythe to be social. βSheβs a very social person. Our weekends used to be filled with social interactions and birthday parties,β said Britton.
Safety recommendations over play dates are mixed. Scott Goldstein, a pediatrician at Northwestern Childrenβs Practice and instructor of clinical pediatrics at Northwestern Universityβs Feinberg School of Medicine, said itβs up to a parentβs comfort level, but small get-togethers with proper precautions should be fine.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, you might still be in lockdown and if you have kids, trying to think of things to do for them to stay occupied can be a hassle. Buzz60βs Mercer Morrison has the story.
According to Dr. Amanda Moreno, an associate professor at the Erikson Institute in downtown Chicago and director of their child development program, children get the majority of their social skills from each other, not adults. Pretend play that adults might consider silly can teach kids about sharing and interaction in what Moreno said is a low-stakes environment.
βWe call it socio-dramatic play. There are rules that kids imitate with what they see in adults and with their own rules,β said Moreno.
Keewa Nurullah, 37, had to put her children in day care because she works full-time. At the start of the pandemic, her 2-year-old and 4-year-old played together, but over time, they lost interest in each other. Nurullahβs 4-year-old, Faraz, began to miss his friends. Although there arenβt many other kids in day care because of the pandemic, Nurullah sees her son is excited again. βSince heβs gone back, I can tell he was so thirsty for friend time,β said Nurullah.
With her child already interacting with other kids daily, Nurullah said she wouldnβt consider play dates. She wants to keep Farazβs exposure to others to a minimum and knows other parents are scared as well. She says interacting with children from different homes could be a health risk, and she hasnβt heard of other parents who are doing it. βI donβt really see play dates happening. I see people who maybe live in the same apartment building, or know another familyβs patterns, or maybe cousins or relatives,β Nurullah.
Lack of peer-to-peer interaction can cause kids to miss out on social skills theyβd otherwise learn in day care or school. However, Moreno said itβs important to remember that kids arenβt completely cut off from the world, even if they canβt see their friends. βItβs not 1920. Itβs not complete isolation,β said Moreno.
Online interaction is also helpful. Moreno said that although itβs not an exact substitute, watching YouTube videos for kids or video chatting can still teach children some of the skills they may be missing. βAll of the second bets are good bets,β said Moreno.
Britton wants Blythe to get as much social interaction as she can because she doesnβt know what will happen in the winter. βIf thereβs not a vaccine until 2021, she canβt be kept from friends for that long,β said Britton.
Whatever kids canβt gain now, theyβll gain whenever they return to school or day care said Moreno. Moreno added that your kids wonβt be the only ones who have a gap in social skills. βWhatβs different is this is happening all over. Itβs not just the worry of kids getting left behind, because itβs all of them,β said Moreno.
