Welcome to the first stage: Early Life! This stage encompasses children of preschool/kindergarten age.
As you read these statistics, think about how these experiences in someone’s formative years can affect their development and later life.
91% of providers stated that Covid impacted early detection of developmental delays and disabilities in young pre kindergarten aged children. This affected the ability to get children into early intervention programs sooner. (https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/impact-covid-developdisabil-508.pdf)
Since 1941, Gallup polls have found that if Americans could have only one child, they’d rather it be a son. 2018’s poll found that 36 percent would prefer having a boy; 28 percent would prefer a girl. Parents who favor the birth of boys tend to have daughters who score an average of three percentage points lower on standardized math tests than girls raised in other types of families. (https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/american-parents-still-prefer-boys-and-its-hurting-their-daughters-test-scores)
A study conducted between 2019-2021 found that children born during the pandemic have significantly reduced verbal, motor, and overall cognitive performance compared to children born pre-pandemic
More than one in 10 children live in a household with at least one adult experiencing substance abuse disorders. The majority of these children are younger than age 5. The negative impacts of parental SUDs on the family include disruption of attachment, rituals, roles, routines, communication, social life, and finances. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2010)
One study involving parental estimation of babies’ crawling prowess examined parents’ perception of their children’s physical abilities to see if the baby’s gender affected the perception. Mothers who were asked to set up the slope of a ramp on which their baby could crawl were nearly accurate in predicting AMAB (assigned male at birth) baby’s ability but significantly underestimated AFAB (assigned female at birth). (https://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/behavioral/what-science-really-says-about-boys-and-girls/)