How to Help Gen C Baby & Toddler Development Delays
Children born before and during this unprecedented time are now behind, when it comes to learning milestones and early childhood development.
INIC Preschool was fortunate to remain open throughout Covid, continuing Spanish immersion education and care for little scholars on their journey to learn, socialize, and grow emotionally. Developmental delays are nonexistent or minimal among young children who were able to continue going to school and engage in relatively “normal” lifestyles. But many young children were home and isolated more frequently due to family health issues, finances, and government regulations. As a result, many infants and young learners are now behind. It’s not too late, though. Parents have options to help their kids catch up and even get ahead.
The Birth of Gen C
The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected everything from public health and employment to the economy and social interactions. It has led to over 3.3 million deaths, according to the latest numbers. And it brought about Generation Covid, also known as “Gen C.”
Gen C is made up of babies born right before and during the pandemic. They entered a whole new world, with the most developmental time of their lives being a strange and stressful one.
Dana Suskind of the University of Chicago spoke with USA Today on the topic, explaining how human brains are born underdeveloped. In the first few years of life, there are over a million neural connections being formed every second, and at least 85% of brain development takes place before the age of five.
How Gen C LagS Behind
Due to Gen C’s unusual upbringing, developmental delays are common. Evidence shows that this generation is behind when it comes to talking and walking, and doesn’t do well with sharing and paying attention. There are more frequent behavioral issues, such as tantrums, anxiety, and even aggression. Studies show that pandemic children have lower scores than cohorts born before COVID-19, when tested on motor skills, social skills, and problem-solving skills.
How to Prevent & Counteract Delays
Now more than ever before, it is crucial to engage with children, to put them in learning environments, and to encourage their interaction with others. According to The Conversation, some of these delays can be helped by talking to your kids, using rich language, listening attentively, and reading together.
This can be taken further with bilingual education, such as Spanish immersion. According to research, children who are exposed to two languages excel with reading, vocabulary, spelling, paying attention, self-discipline, academic achievements, creating, multitasking, resolving conflicts, and beyond. And that’s what INIC Preschool’s stimulating environment is all about, as students have fun while developing motor, intellectual, emotional, social, and language skills.
In addition to Spanish immersion and challenging curriculum, INIC has an upbeat community environment, extracurricular activities, and a caring/responsive staff to help children achieve escalating developmental milestones.
The first years of a child’s life are the most important – a time when they are soaking everything in, growing, studying everyone around them, evolving, and learning everywhere they go. To make the most of this time, to assist in the advancements, and to set your child(ren) up for success, schedule a tour or enroll today!
About INIC Preschool Spanish Immersion Education & Childcare
Learn. Play. Make Friends. Founded in 2012, INIC Preschool is a Spanish immersion school with locations in Round Rock and South Austin. Educators here are upbeat and enjoy a positive teacher-led work environment with access to many benefits. INIC’s challenging curriculum accommodates the unique learning style of every child, from three-month-old infants up to school age. The classroom experience is intentionally low tech for kids, but parents and grandparents are delighted to check in on their little scholar with high-tech, easy-to-use tools: WatchMeGrow and Brightwheel. All classes and activities are taught in Spanish, every day.
Round Rock, Texas: 2960 Jazz Street // rrcareers@inic-edu.com
South Autin, Texas: 2100 W. William Cannon Dr. // careers@inic-edu.com