I’ve done a few social distance hangouts. One of my friends lives in the building next to mine. A few times we met outside our buildings. We stayed well more than 6 feet apart. His two kids ages two and four tagged along. While we are chatting I am wondering what the kids think?
A normal week for the older one would be pretty simple. Mom or dad would drop her off at preschool. She’d do the typical activities, get picked up and go home. She’d have her playdates. If it were nice out she’d play with her friends in Yellowstone Municipal Park. Or they’d play in her or her friend’s apartments. Now the school is closed. The parks are closed.
Learning how to develop friendships at a young age is on hold. What will happen when these kids are allowed to play again? How will they? Will be able to go on swings and slidin’ pond? Will they be able to sit and color together?
My play date was simple we went to the dollar store. She got paintbrushes, paint and paper. I bought disposable gloves, soap and toilet paper. I asked her if she was going to paint a picture of her brother? She said no, my friend. She hasn’t seen her friend in months. They played together regularly.
Now, remember it was only about three months ago that the virus took hold. Now when mom and dad take the kids to the supermarket everyone is wearing gloves and a mask. The store’s employees are, too. They wait online to go into the store. Shelves are empty. There are rations on purchasing certain items. Glass shields are up by the register.
Movie theaters are closed. Clothing stores are closed. Amusement parks and beaches are closed. These kids are seeing their whole world shut.
Today I went to the closed Queens Zoo in the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Corona is for the town it is in. Not the virus or the beer. To quote Paul Simon, “I got a Nikon camera. I love to take a photograph.” I stood at the fence of the zoo and took shots of the poor animals. I saw a few zoo workers feeding and taking care of them. As I finished my shoot, a dad and his young son stood at the fence. The kid was three or four years old. Is he thinking is my dad too cheap to take me into the zoo? Are we too poor to pay the $6.25 child fee so I can go in and pet animals? Is he noticing no one is in the zoo?
So what are the two and four-year-olds thinking? How are they taking it in? What is their analysis of why they aren’t in school, allowed to see their friends or go to the latest Disney movie?
I am not a child psychologist. I am sure there will be numerous articles in the journals they and other mental health professionals read that will discuss how these lockdown months will or won’t affect their development. As a casual observer, these kids are taking in much more than their age level prepares them for. Same for us.
Other posts can be viewed at:
“Pandemic Watch: Will my nephew ever know how good it was?”
“Pandemic Watch: What will happen when I get released on parole?”
“Pandemic Watch: We live in interesting times,”
https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/pandemic-watch-we-live-in-interesting-times
“Pandemic Watch: Dressing during the Covid-19 pandemic,”
“Pandemic Watch: Yes, it is Monday,”
https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/11/pandemic-watch-yes-it-is-monday
“How skills I learned as a teen in the scouts help during the Covid-19 pandemic, “
“How the Covid-19 pandemic causes us to rethink old habits,”
“Traveling on public transit and being outside during the Covid-19 pandemic,” https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/29/traveling-on-public-transit-and-being-outside-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
“Grocery shopping during Covid-19. Or anytime,” https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/28/grocery-shopping-during-covid-19-or-anytime
“I want to help restaurants during the pandemic. But…,”
“Masks and gloves,” https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/03/30/608
“Trashy Parks,”
https://mitchellthoughtsblog.wordpress.com/2020/01/07/trashy-parks
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