What is it about?
We know that children suffered from school closures, but what about the smallest among us? In Germany, preschools were also closed during lockdown and the impact it had on preschool children is largely unknown. We questioned parents of children between 2-6 and asked them about their stress, their mental health and their children's mental health before, during and after Germany-wide lockdowns. Overall, children's mental health got a lot worse throughout lockdowns and could be explained by their parents' stress and anxiety and by not attending preschool. More specifically, children that attended preschool during lockdowns as part of an 'emergency' program had way better mental health than children that did not.
Featured Image
Photo by Nicole Leeper on Unsplash
Why is it important?
During COVID-19 many lockdowns were in place and also preschools had to close. The impact of school closures on children has been looked at frequently, but how preschool closures affected the smallest among us remained largly unknown. This study showed that preschool children in Germany who continued going to preschool during lockdowns (as an 'emergency' program) had way less signs of mental health problems than children who did not. This supports the importance of preschool, both for children themselves and as an aid for parents - especially during pandemics like COVID-19.
Perspectives
Usually, one expects small children to be fine. Many of them have parents and have a support system. For me, it was especially important to do this study, because it seemed like children were considered as an 'additional risk' during the pandemic instead of human beings that need experiences to grow and develop. The study showed that preschool is a big part of that development and shouldn't be closed easily in the future, not without considering consequences.
Irina Jarvers
University of Regensburg
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Impact of preschool attendance, parental stress, and parental mental health on internalizing and externalizing problems during COVID-19 lockdown measures in preschool children, PLoS ONE, February 2023, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281627.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
