Pandemic Babies & Parenting Techniques

The Covid-19 pandemic has hugely affected many lives and seems like may continue affecting for a few more years. It’s still hard to say when will life return to the pre-covid era or as some say we need to simply get used to the new 'normal' and accept life will never be the same.

While discussing the pandemic and its affects on various aspects of life, we often come across the term Pandemic Babies. The children born during the pandemic are referred to as Pandemic babies. In this thread, we'll explore the impact of the pandemic on the youngest generation of the world.

The children born during this era have undoubtedly received a lot of parental care owing to the fact that many new parents have been working from home for nearly two years. This has enabled babies to receive a lot more love and care especially from fathers who otherwise would have had short "paternity leave" and returned to work in normal circumstances. The bonding of siblings has also grown as many children/young adults have been home schooled. Some research studies have found that many babies have learnt to crawl, walk and even say their first few words much earlier than babies born before the pandemic. (Whether or not, the early crawling is a plus point for parents is another debatable subject - crawling babies means parents on their toes and full alert 24/7)

While It may seem like everything is hunky dory for this tiny generation, unfortunately, it’s not. The pandemic has also had its fair share of negative effects on the babies and toddlers. The most important skill that some studies have shown to be adversely affected is the child's social skills. Due to national lockdowns and restrictions on how many households can meet, many babies/toddlers have been deprived of the opportunities to interact with their grandparents, extended families and friends. The temporary closures of day nurseries and other childcare institutions also meant reduced opportunities for babies to interact with other babies, thereby increasing the fear of strangers, low self confidence and possibly affecting their interaction with others in later years.

The true impact the pandemic will have had on their development is something time will tell, but we are hopeful of improvements as things return back to normal - lockdown restrictions are lifted, families and friends are meeting and day nurseries are open for babies to undergo new adventures. Yes, the future does look bright for those little tots who must have turned two by now or approaching the terrible twos. We hope they adjust to the new surroundings and world well for the sake of parental sanity.

The pandemic has taught the world to reflect and analyse their current practices and learn to adapt to new changes/challenges. One such area a lot of research has focussed in was Parenting Techniques/Styles. A lot of debate surrounds the benefits and drawbacks of Traditional v Modern Parenting and the differences. The CC team would like to explore this topic of discussion with you all to see your take on it:

Parenting is tricky business as children are not some 'ready-made products' that are sprung from a mould, nor do they come with a manual you follow to raise them. Every child is unique and requires a unique parenting approach so while we agree the "one size fits all" approach has no place in the world of parenting, what we do agree is that a mixture of parenting techniques (both traditional and modern) need to be adapted to raise children and it is really down to the parent to judge what works best for them and their child.

Please share your views on parenting and lockdown babies below. Should traditional parenting be looked down upon (i.e. breastfeeding babies, co-sleeping, skin-to-skin) or should we understand the importance of maintaining a balance and appreciate there is no "right/perfect" way of raising children? Share your thoughts and views below.

Credits:

x.titli.x | Yuvika_15

Personally, I think recently a lot of studies are showing the traditional parenting techniques are extremely effective and have a positive impact on the development of children. The emotional and mental wellbeing of a baby and child in their early years is so critical and I personally feel traditional parenting techniques support the emotional development of babies. besides that, babies/children won't remain children forever so why not make the most of the little precious time while you have it. To each to its own but I feel there is nothing wrong with putting a child before one's career etc.

Not being able to go to “play school “ attend kindergarten classes is preventing kids from interacting with each other. Kids are confined to homes and their social /behavioural development is expected to be affected, studies are on, results are awaited . Online classes are good for senior classes not for little ones who have shorter attention span. .

Cases of child abuse have risen.

On. Side note 😆
Having a matching mask compulsorily with the school uniform will make kids more acceptable to masking up as they grow rather than revolt and meet the inevitable .

Excellent thread by you, CC’s! ⭐️

I’m a mother of 6 yo son and I try to do a mix of traditional and modern parenting depending on his age and the situation in hand.

Pandemic babies and parents have the chance to explore and use homeschool, Montessori techniques, making the child more ready and practical. My Instagram is somehow full of soft parenting techniques and seems really adorable.

Indian parents still prefer the old school - rod and child😆

The perfect balance is important but never truly possible. 😆 to each kid, their own.

Hope the kids don't get too attached to the screens (most have already begun🥺) and the type of content they're exposed to is concerning.

But these kids are a different species if I can say so... They just know too much already and they're barely born 🤣

BTW, haven't we as a generation x,y,z millennials - decided not to have kids? Seems unreal that they're still being born 🤣 ab paida ho k kya hi kar loge? 🤣 like we say for pets, adopt, don't shop; kids k liye bhi - adopt, don't birth.

Nice thread CCs! adorable graphics but Boss Baby 🤣

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ce3woucgS30/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

😆

It is a very good topic, thanks to the thread maker.❤️

Research states that, Pandemic babies are behind after these 2 years of stress, isolation which is affected brain development.

Little or no exposure to the outside world made kids more anxious and slow learners.

Emerging evidence reveals an uptick in developmental delays and challenging behaviors in children belonging to the Covid generation. Born during or shortly before the pandemic, many of these children are talking, walking and interacting later and less frequently. In many cases, the adults in their lives have suffered unrelenting and unprecedented levels of emotional stress that affected their babies too.

The good aspect of this seclusion and work from home was that it kept children in the safe hands of their parents, who spent most of their time constantly monitoring the children's development.

Some experts point to increasing screen usage, while other study suggests that mask wearing is a factor that further impairs the child's cognitive ability. Babies and toddlers observe how adults move their mouths as they learn how to produce letter sounds. Children notice facial emotions, which are limited when half of the face is hidden by a mask.

Slowly and surely, humanity is adapting to live with this Covid, and children are already adjusting to new standards.