In this paper, I researched how COVID-19 has impacted the developmental lives of children socially and physically.

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Current Events and Child Development
Parissa S. Shedd
HDFS 4080
Dr. Kalsea Koss
April 14, 2020

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Introduction
In the past month, everyone’s lives across America have been changed by the COVID-19
pandemic. Every individual is trying to adjust to this new way of life and learning how to deal
with these new challenges that have been presented. COVID-19 has caused all non-essential
businesses to be closed and for schools to shut down indefinitely. With schools closing across the
country, children are now forced to be at home and self-isolate with their families. This paper
seeks to explore the changes in children in both the physical and social environments, the
developmental impacts, and the different environmental influences that impact the day-to-day
life of children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Changes in both Physical and Social Environments
Based on Bronfenbrenner’s research, there is a lot of information about children but not a
lot about the environments in which they live or the processes through which these environments
affect the course of their development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). A child’s environment in and out
of school can greatly impact their overall development. The isolation of children can have a
destructive path that interconnects among various segments of the child’s life—family, school,
peer group, and neighborhood (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). However, isolation is a part of
everyone’s life due to COVID-19. Instead of trying to change the current circumstances, it is
more important to focus on how to make it the best at home environment for the children.
Bronfenbrenner found that most parents are deeply committed to ensure the well-being of his or
her child (1979). By focusing on the child’s at home environment it can help to ensure the most
stable conditions.
The family system is vital during this time, because it is all that the child has. The family
system can be defined as the structural approach to families based on the concept that a family is

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more than the individual biopsychodyanmics of its family members (Bornstein & Sawyer, 2006).
Families have the ability to reorganize adaptively in response to changes or challenges
(Bornstein & Sawyer, 2006). COVID-19 is a novel experience to families all across the country
that has posed many changes in the day-to-day life of the family. The family system
characteristic of “adaptive self-organization” allows the family system to continue to function in
light of novel circumstances (Bornstein & Sawyer, 2006). The idea of adaptive self-organization
states that families continually strive to attain a dynamic balance amidst the experiences of
growth and the need for consistency (Bornstein & Sawyer, 2006). It is important to have a strong
family system so that when something new occurs, like COVID-19, the family is able to adapt
and change in light of their new circumstances. A family that is able to adapt to these new
circumstances will result in the best outcomes for their child.
In novel times, like the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to acknowledge the role that
parents have in mediating a child’s understanding of these new experiences and fostering their
development along these possible new trajectories (Holden, 2010). Effective parents initially
guide their children’s trajectories in positive directions, although with development, guidance
decreases in favor of the child’s increasing autonomy (Holden, 2010). This demonstrates how it
is the parent’s role to give the child some guidance in order to help the child adapt to their
current situation. This idea helps to reveal some of the dynamic interactional processes that
contribute to certain developmental outcomes (Holden, 2010). COVID-19 would be an example
of a roadblock, because it is an event that has shut down or delayed protentional developmental
trajectories (Holden, 2010). Effective parenting would be helping with the child’s emotional
development in response to this potential roadblock and helping to moderate development along

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trajectories (Holden, 2010). It is the parent’s role to help the child understand what is going on
and allowing them time to cope with these changes.
Executive Function and Self-Regulation
There is an association between emotion and emotional regulation that can simulate new
thinking about the developmental construction of an emotional experience (Thompson, 2011).
Context is important because of how regulatory processes are affected by other components of
emotional regulation (Thompson, 2011). When considering how a child is responding to
COVID-19, it is important to remember the context of that child. Some children may react
differently to the current situation. Depending on their emotional regulation, they may be
overwhelmed by the unpredictability of the situation (Thompson, 2011). As a result of this, they
may need to alter their strategies and their emotional goals in order to respond properly to the
situation they are currently faced with (Thompson, 2011).
Peer Development
Peer relationships are a special form of close relationships that are a normative part of
development throughout childhood and into adolescence (Ellis & Zarbatany, 2017; Laursen,
2017). These types of relationships are a crucial social context for positive development and
psychological well-being, and they play a vital role in emerging behavior during childhood and
adolescence (Ellis & Zarbatany, 2017). Children rely on their friends for social support and a
feeling of safety (Ellis & Zarbatany, 2017). As a result of COVID-19, children are not able to see
their friends on a day-to-day basis and that feeling of security and routine is ripped away from
them. As children are presented with this issue, it is vital that parents do what they can in order
to maintain some type of closeness between their child and their peers. The parent could setup
facetime or phone calls for their child and their peers that would help to keep them connected

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and maintain some sense of normalcy. By parent’s recognizing the valuable role that friends
have in their child’s life, they are able to do what they can to preserve those relationships.
Variations among children
Environmental sensitivity is critical for adapting successfully to contextual conditions,
individuals tend to vary in their sensitivity to the environment (Pluess, 2015). An individual’s
environmental sensitivity can vary across different domains of functioning—cognitive,
emotional, or social (Pluess, 2015). Genetic differences also play a role in the differences in
environmental sensitivity (Pluess, 2015). It has been found that both genetic and environmental
factors contribute to individual differences in environmental sensitivity (Pluss, 2015). What a
child has been exposed influences the way that they respond to things. It is important to consider
what stage the child is in as well their environmental factors. For example, when it comes to peer
relationships the age of the child matters greatly. Typically, older children will have closer
relationships with their peers, and they will rely on them more in their day-to-day life. It would
be vital for those children to maintain a close relationship with their peers in the midst of these
circumstances.
Conclusion
This paper explored the changes in children’s environments, the developmental impacts,
and the different environmental influences that impact children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, it is important for parents to keep in mind the large role they play and their need to
foster their child’s development in their day-to-day life. We do not know the long-term effects of
COVID-19 on the development of children. But, hopefully with the proper response there will be
fewer long-term negative effects and children will be able to continue to properly grow and
develop during these times.

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References
Bornstein, M. H., & Sawyer, J. (2006). Family systems. In K. McCartney & D. Phillips (Eds.),
Blackwell handbooks of developmental psychology (pp. 381-398).
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). Contexts of child rearing: Problems and prospects. American
Psychologist, 34, 844-850.
Ellis, W.E., & Zarbatany, L. (2017). Understanding processes of peer clique influences in late
childhood and early adolescence. Child Development Perspectives, 11, 227-232.
Holden, G.W. (2010). Childrearing and developmental trajectories: Positive pathways, off-
ramps, and dynamic processes. Child Development Perspectives, 4, 197-204.
Laursen, B. (2017). Making and keeping friends: The importance of being similar. Child
Development Perspectives, 11, 282-289.
Pluess, M. (2015). Individual differences in environmental sensitivity. Child Development
Perspectives, 9, 138-143.
Thompson, R.A. (2011). Emotion and emotion regulation: Two sides of the developing coin.
Emotion Review, 3, 53-61.