Effects of COVID-19 on 6-12 Year Old Children Living in Suburban Neighborhoods

By: McCall Murray, Cali Ruth Hays, Annabelle Armah, Alex Bruggeman, & Beth Doss

Social and Emotional Development of Children Ages 6-12

Piaget:

• 6 year olds= preoperational to concrete operational stage
• Pretend play, language development, egocentric
• 7-11 year olds= concrete operational stage
• Understanding of cause-and-effect relationships
• 12 year olds= transitioning to formal operational stage
• Social/moral issues explored, abstract logical thinking

Erikson:

• 6-11 year olds= industry vs inferiority stage
• Success in social/academic demands leads to a sense of competence, and failure results in feeling inferior.
• 12 year olds= entering the identity vs role confusion stage of adolescence
• Beginning to develop a sense of self and personal identity. May experience role confusion or a weak sense of self.
• Form peer groups
• Discover rules may be flexible
• Take more responsibility for their behavior
• Feelings of stress may increase

How might stress affect children ages 6-12 during this time?

Children may be experiencing multiple sources of stress at this time:

• School cancellations & online learning
• Routine disruptions
• Confusion about pandemic
• Separation from friends & family
• Illness/death of loved ones
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Stress may manifest itself in sadness, anxiety, behavior problems, regression, or a lack of interest in work or play. Stress may also impact children’s caregivers, which affects the care and interaction that children receive.

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How the events of COVID-19 may affect play for children that are ages 6-12

Play prior to COVID-19:

• Friend groups and sharing boundaries
• Sports
• Friends decided by proximity
• Exploration of the environment
• Play with rules and games including more people

Play with COVID-19:

• Very isolated especially if they do not have siblings: due to inability to see friends at school or at sports
• Forced to play inside or within the boundaries of their home
• Children may crave more attention from parents to engage in play with them
• Play is still spontaneous, children may play out what stressors they are feeling during this time
• Children’s play may reflect some aspects of the crisis as a way to process or communicate how they are feeling
• Children may depend on technology to engage in social interaction versus outside play with others
• Playgrounds are closed so less play on those

How might location affect children’s reactions?

• The location of a child might affect the child’s reaction to COVID-19. With undertaking actions such as shelter-in-place orders, activities for children to engage in can change.
• With living in a neighborhood, children may develop friends and they get together within the neighborhood and play together. Some neighborhoods may have a playground, tennis courts, or a pool. Those items become closed due to the limited contact in gatherings, social distancing and shelter-in-place orders.
• With living in a Suburban neighborhood compared to others living in a rural area on a large farm, they could feel trapped in their home because of the shelter-in-place order and social distancing.

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• Reactions from children due to location:
• Feeling frustrated not being able to spend time with friends.
• Trouble focusing and change of location from school to school at home.
• Not getting adequate outdoor time due to the shelter-in-place order causing children to be sad.
• Sometimes doing nothing and being stuck inside can make you more tired.
• Reactions from the parents could cause children to be stressed and scared of the situation.

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Strategies & Suggestions for Parents

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• Talk to your child.
• Depending on your child’s developmental level, you can be sure they’ve heard at least something about COVID-19. Explain your current situation to them in a developmentally appropriate way and allow them to ask questions.
• Maintain a sense of routine.
• Schedule changes and unstructured times can be very anxiety-provoking among children, especially in ages 6-12. Try to develop a schedule that includes wake-up times, meal times, outdoor activities, free-play, and learning sessions. It may be helpful to go over this every morning.
• Water-Play
• Provide your children a sensory treat while also making your house more sanitary at the same time by setting up a “toy washing station” with different sponges, brushes, and bubbles. Consider other water toys to make it more fun.
• Get Outdoors
• Encourage children to get outdoors for at least 30 minutes a day. This can allow for a simple change in scenery that can also redirect negative behavior.
• Learn Online
• It’s important not to let children fall too behind on their studies. Keep in mind how different this is for them and support their learning as much as possible. There are also many free online learning activities that provide education in a playful way.