Profs and Pints Online presents: “Children, Play, and the Pandemic,” a look at child friendships in a time of social distancing, with Julie Wargo Aikins, child clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Wayne State University.

[This talk will remain available in recorded form at the link given here for tickets and access.]

When the pandemic began in March, the sudden shift to remote K-12 education upended one of the most basic parts of children’s everyday lives, school attendance, which accounted for a large share of their socialization. Not only were students precluded from being in classrooms with each other, but they were cut off from informal interaction with their peers when it happens most, during non-instructional periods such as lunch or recess, activities, and before and after school.

What are the potential implications of ongoing social distancing for children’s well-being? What approaches might schools and parents take to alleviate children’s difficulties? Hear such questions tackled by Dr. Wargo Aikins, a child clinical psychologist with a 20-year history of research in peer and family relationships. She’ll look at what research says about how we can keep children psychologically healthy in a time when a sudden shift to remote schooling has left many without long-assumed socialization opportunities.

The bad news is that, without socialization opportunities generally associated with schooling, children are more prone to feelings of loneliness and isolation that have been tied to increased levels of depression and anxiety.

The good news is the existence of silver linings and new potential for positive growth.  The sorts of neighborhood-based friendships that many older adults fondly remember, but today’s children generally have been much less likely to have, have experienced a big resurgence in many American towns. Their sudden return has created new opportunities for social relationships, especially among children of different ages, that would have remained unlikely had there been no pandemic. If the last nine months have proven nothing else, it is that social support and comradery are key to components to human well-being.

Hearing from Dr. Wargo Aikins will help you appreciate how childhoods had changed even before Covid-19 had upended them, and explore what lessons the pandemic is teaching us about child development and the benefits of neighborhood-based child friendships that seemed as of a year ago to becoming a thing of the past. The talk will leave parents and teachers with a better understanding of how to keep children emotionally and socially engaged during a time they are being asked to remain physically distant from many of their peers.

Profs & Pints Online: Children, Play, and the Pandemic