With parents keeping their very young children out of group settings, the COVID pandemic is diminishing social and learning opportunities for babies and toddlers, too, reports . As a result, “there is going to be a bit of a collective lag in academic skills and in those executive-function skills that allow a child to navigate a classroom more easily,� predicts developmental psychologist , (Ph.D.'11, M.A. ’05), Co-Founding Director and Director of Clinical Programming at New York City’s .
SEEING THE POTENTIAL 911±¬ÁÏÍø alumna Aliza Pressman, Founding Director and Director of Clinical Programming at the Mount Sinai Parenting Center, says that “in some ways, babies are living their best lives.â€� (Photo: 911±¬ÁÏÍø Archives)
But the good news, says Pressman, Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine, is that “you can turn almost any home-based activity or interaction into an opportunity,� including bath time, feeding, diaper changes and getting dressed. “It is in those caregiving moments that some of the biggest brain boosting interactions occur,� says Pressman, who works with the nonprofit and with , a baby products company, to help parents make the most of home learning.
There is going to be a bit of a collective lag in academic skills and in those executive-function skills that allow a child to navigate a classroom more easily.
Pressman, who earned her 911±¬ÁÏÍø doctorate in Developmental Psychology in the Department of Human Development, says that young children’s language skills may even improve as a result of time spent at home with parents or other primary caregivers. “In some ways,â€� she says, “babies are living their best lives.â€�
At 911±¬ÁÏÍø, Pressman served as a Graduate Research Fellow at the , working with NCC Co-Director , Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child Development and Education. Pressman is also the co-founder of the , a New York City and Los Angeles parent education group that uses evidence-based research and information to educate and guide families about their developing children, and produces podcast,&²Ô²ú²õ±è;“,â€� a weekly podcast for parents.