Today marks World Children’s Day and experts say the youngest have borne the brunt of the impact from the pandemic.
Being kept at home from school and away from friends for long periods can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of young kids.
Children aged 0 to 5 are said to be the most impacted in terms of both educational and social development.
Dr. Anne Keogh, a senior Clinical Psychologist, says the last two years has had an impact at all ages:
"It's kept children away from other children [...] that can have an impact."
Dr. Keogh says it's not just the youngest children effected, everyone from teens to toddlers are being effected by the events of the last two years.
She says a teenagers instinct towards independence has been stunted by being locked inside:
"The job of a teenager is to assert their independence, its a total realignment of testing the boundaries."
Dr. Keogh says the lockdowns has also created some tension between parents and their children.
She says showing trust as children begin to leave the house again can help mend relationships:
"From a child's perspective, what they're asking their parents to do is have their back. As a parent it's important to remember our children aren't 'us' that they may make different choices, they may not do what we always want but [we hope] they can stand up for themselves. "
