Babies coo and cry to express themselves and get their caregiver’s attention. And by as early as 12 months, babies could have already said their first word. This natural language development is also aided by the baby’s environment. However with the pandemic restrictions that have kept them largely separated from more public spaces, researchers have made a worrying discovery–babies seem to vocalize less.

The Quiet Generation

Researchers at the Rhode Island Hospital and the nonprofit LENA Foundation found out that babies born during the pandemic simply vocalize less and engage less frequently in verbal exchanges.
This less frequent verbal interaction does not only slow down language acquisition and skills but also the far more complex cognitive development that happens quickly during the first 3-5 years of a child’s life.

A Silent Environment

As the pandemic progressed, babies who were largely kept away from public spaces, accompanied mostly by parents and immediate family members, heard fewer words and engaged in even less interactions.
As parents got stressed by the pandemic, and childcare closures became more frequent, babies’ opportunities to hear, engage, and vocalize also sharply decreased.
And even with childcare, the act of mask-wearing also partly disabled babies in being able to discern facial expressions which is a great source of communication cues for them.
And by the age of 2, this pandemic generation has heard much less compared to 2-year olds born before the pandemic.

Prep for a Pep Talk

While the study produced worrying results, parents and caregivers can still do something to help this pandemic generation of babies catch up and keep pace with their development milestones.
Researchers have said coaching parents and caregivers into providing more opportunities for babies and toddlers to have more interactions using conversational strategies seem to be the key.
As babies’ brains are malleable and still developing, early intervention is always the best at preventing far worse learning impediments later in life. While this pandemic generation of babies may not be as school-ready as previous generations, interventions set up early can do so much in countering the negative consequences of pandemic restrictions imposed on this quiet generation.