Impact of Pandemic on Young Children

I am wondering what the long term effects of this pandemic might be on your children, say between the ages of baby to six years old. These are the kids whose personalities are still forming and who are highly influenced by watching their parents and learning new behaviors. 

There could be positive outcomes, such as being fastidiously clean and conscious of keeping their germs to themselves. They will probably never sneeze on their bus driver, which happened to my husband many times in his long driving career. They will probably be more aware of respecting other people’s personal space and not grab another child’s hand on the playground as a friendly gesture without asking permission. 

The flip side to this, of course, would be a generation of germaphobes and socially anxious people. We have all stayed at home for a long time and not invited anyone over to play. They have not observed their parents having coffee and barbecues with friends. Will they therefore be stilted in their interactions with others or have more social anxiety or poor communication skills due to lack of practice? 

Many children have been homeschooled during the pandemic. There is the familiar stereotype of homeschooled kids being socially awkward. Will they adapt back into classrooms easily or feel overwhelmed by large group settings? Later on in life, will they choose more individual pursuits, such as working from home, or will they join into a collaborative work environments and still feel comfortable?

These are the things I wonder about. My kids are grown so I need to hear from you. How are your young children doing after a year of this? Do you think there will be any long-term positive or negative effects on their behaviors or personalities after this is over? I realize this is close to the heart, so thank you for sharing.