Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on child development: comparing pre- and post-pandemic developmental process levels

Concerns about the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's development have prompted numerous developmental studies during the pandemic period. However, few studies have examined children's developmental trajectories beyond the lifting of pandemic-related social restrictions. This study examined the developmental progress of children aged 36-42 months, who experienced the COVID-19 pandemic during their early developmental period, as a follow-up to its previous study, which evaluated the developmental progress of the same children when they were 18-24 months during the pandemic. When comparing pre-, during-, and post-COVID data, the findings confirmed that the effects on language development previously observed in these children at 18-24 months had disappeared by the time they reached the 36-42-month investigation. However, the findings at 36-42 months also revealed a decline in the developmental quotient for motor development, marking the first time such an effect has been observed in a longitudinal study. Further verification is needed to determine whether this decline during the early stages of development was due to the pandemic or other factors.