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Coronavirus: Young children of working parents improved their attention during lockdown, study reveals

Children of working parents had fewer tantrums and ‘significant’ improvements in attention during lockdown, findings from a study tracking two- to five year-olds throughout the pandemic has revealed.
Children in the study benefited from having more time at home with their parents, researchers believe
Children in the study benefited from having more time at home with their parents, researchers believe

Researchers on the Co-Spyce study (Covid-19 Supporting Parents and Young Children during Epidemics) a collaboration between the Universities of Reading, Oxford and Southampton, asked 972 families with children aged two to five to monitor changes in their emotions, disobedience, attention span and other behaviours over a one-month period between April and July.

Psychologists found that despite the pressures placed on families during lockdown, there has been a ‘small but significant’ improvement in the behaviour and attention of children with working parents.

However, across the entire participant population – children of working and non-working parents – the study found that boys showed significant improvements in their behaviour and attention, while girls did not.

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