Scholar Tells Inquiry How COVID Policies Could Harm Children’s Emotional and Social Development

Parents drop off their children at a school in Vancouver on Sept. 9, 2021. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

A scholar citing research from professional literature told the National Citizen’s Inquiry in Ottawa how COVID-19 policies such as masking and lockdowns could impact the emotional and social development of infants and children.

“[Children] are at risk for failed developmental milestones, disrupted social-emotional interaction, and risk for reduced capacity for emotional and behavioural regulation,” Keren Epstein-Gilboa, a former university lecturer with a Ph.D. in developmental psychology, said on May 18.

The National Citizen’s Inquiry (NCI), which describes itself as a “citizen-led and citizen-funded initiative that is completely independent of government,” has been holding hearings in various locations across the country. It is examining how the COVID-19 pandemic measures put in place by all levels of government impacted Canadians in the categories of health, fundamental rights and freedoms, social well-being, and economic prosperity.

According to Epstein-Gilboa, when developing COVID-19 policies, the developmental milestones of children—which are the behaviours that mark stages of typical growth—were not taken into account. For example, she cited research that showed face-to-face interaction is crucial for the proper development of infants, but said facial masking interrupted this process.

“We have to learn, and how do we learn if we don’t see each other’s faces? And what we don’t want is a hidden face, limited interaction and connection, because the interactional components are stifled,” she said.

Epstein-Gilboa cited the “Still Face Experiment,” where after three minutes of interaction with a non-responsive expressionless mother, children will withdraw and show negative emotions. The experiment, which has been repeatedly replicated, shows how the behaviour and feelings of parents can impact the development of children.

“Now think of this. What happens to our infants and some of our young children during the past three years, who didn’t see faces for hours and hours?” Epstein-Gilboa asked.

The scholar emphasized that the level of impact on children depends on the balance between the risk factors introduced by COVID policies and the protective factors applied. Children weren’t all impacted the same way, she said, as children with adequate protective factors were able to develop appropriately.

The impact of masking on children’s social and psychological development is still being debated by scientists. While the U.S. Centres for Disease Control has said the limited available data indicates “no clear evidence that masking impairs emotional or language development in children,” some psychiatrists and speech therapists have raised concerns with the impacts of face masks on children.

Impact on Learning

Epstein-Gilboa said that during the “concrete stage” of development—where children become more logical and sophisticated in their thinking—they are unable to see the nuances in rule-following. “So at the concrete stage, a rule is a rule. So if you don’t wear a mask, and it’s a rule, you’re bad,” she said.

“A teacher told me that one day, she saw a child at the end of the school day who was hiding and didn’t want to go home. She said to her, ‘Why are you crying?’ And she said ‘Because my grandparents are coming to get me, and I’m afraid I’m going to kill them,” Epstein-Gilboa said.

Epstein-Gilboa said children also require “scaffolding”—or supportive activities provided by educators or more competent peers—in order to support them as they grow throughout life. But she suggested that school closures prevented children from receiving adequate scaffolding.

“You can’t just put something on the computer online and expect a child to learn—they need someone to support them,” she said.

Health Canada did not respond to the Epoch Times’ request for comment.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on May 20 to reflect the capacity in which the scholar addressed the inquiry, and add more details from the presentation.