Children missed school, play, and key milestones during the COVID-19 pandemic. How will that shape their future? Dr. Jon Goldin weighs in on the long-term impact.
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00:00How does this phase of missing out on so much, whether they're missing out on school or they missed out on social experiences, how will that affect these children from this generation in the real world as adults?
00:11Well, we hope that there are not lasting damage done. But the reality is it does increase challenges for young people when they've missed out on a year or two of their education.
00:22So we know that, you know, young people who are doing exams and studying at a later stage in their school career suffered because they missed out on education during the COVID pandemic.
00:33So it doesn't necessarily have to mean that there's long term damage done.
00:37But, you know, children and young people develop. And to some extent, that period of time, their opportunities to develop were restricted.
00:45They didn't have, you know, if you were age three, four, five, and normally you'd be in a play group, learning how to play, learning how to interact with other young people of your age.
00:54You were stuck at home usually at that time for those that two year period or much of that two year period.
01:00So normal opportunities to develop and socialize were missed out on, which means that young people have to catch up at a later stage.
01:08So one hopes that for the majority of young people, it doesn't affect them in a major way into their adulthood and into their professional careers and so on.
01:17But I do think it makes it more stressful to, for example, you know, study at the age of 11, 12, 13 when you've missed out on school at the age of five or six.
01:28So, you know, there have been significant impacts, but we also don't want to be too pessimistic and think that it's, you know, caused definite long term damage.
01:37Because I don't think we can say that for sure.