Detriments to children’s social, mental and emotional health weren’t considered as the U.S. and other parts of the world plunged into lockdown mode in early 2020. Only now, years later, are we beginning to see the negative effects play out in the form of historic learning setbacks, falling test scores and developmental delays.
Keeping millions of children away from school and isolated from normal social interactions for periods of weeks, months and years was an unprecedented experiment. As were mask mandates that forced children to cover their faces for entire schooldays — during a time in their lives when observing facial expressions is key to social and emotional development.
In December 2021, a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles revealed one precise reason why COVID-19 measures like mask mandates shouldn’t have happened — no one knows how they affect crucial elements of childhood, including psychological development, language development, emotional development, social behavior and school success. The data that are coming in, however, are alarming.