Those surveyed were asked a range of questions about their child’s behaviour, such as whether they had tantrums, were worried, or had lost confidence, in February 2021 compared to a year earlier, during the height of the pandemic.
The findings, which are published in a new report, reveal that 52 per cent of parents of four- to seven-year-olds believed their child’s emotional and social development had worsened over this period.
They were also more likely to have seen a decline in their child’s development amid the health crisis.
Parent’s economic instability, such as being furloughed, school and nursery closures, lack of contact with friends and death and illness among families were among factors in young children’s development being curtailed, the report found.
Only one in six children saw their social and emotional development improve during the pandemic, according to the report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) and University College London Institute of Education.
'Children lived through many changes during these years'.
'During the COVID-19 pandemic, children from all backgrounds saw their social and emotional skills worsen considerably,' said report author IFS research economist Andrew McKendrick.
'Children lived through many changes during these years: school closures, lack of contact with friends and family, and potentially devastating severe illness or death among loved ones.
'Our research shows that another important driver of children’s declining skills was the economic disruptions experienced by their parents, whether or not those disruptions led to a large income loss.'
Josh Hillman, director of education the Nuffield Foundation, which funded the report, added, 'This important research highlights yet another adverse and compounding effect the pandemic had on children and young people, particularly those whose parents stopped working or were furloughed.
'Children’s social and emotional development is important, not only in its own right, but also in supporting their capacity to learn and achieve in school, which in turn can bolster their longer-term outcomes.'
Early Years Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch called the report’s findings 'incredibly concerning, though sadly not surprising'.
'While it is vital that, moving forward, all children are given the care and attention they need to make up for the ‘"lost learning" during this period, given the particularly significant impact of the pandemic on younger children, it’s clear that this needs to start in the early years,' he said.