Items

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  2022-06-17

  The FDA authorizes COVID-19 shots for infants and preschoolers

  This is a news story from NPR by The Associated Press. The United States has authorized the use of vaccines for infants and preschoolers. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is debating how the vaccines are to be administered. The article says that studies support giving these age groups the vaccines, as they are said to be effective and have minor side-effects.
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  2022-04-01

  NYC judge nixes mask mandates for toddlers, Eric Adams plans to appeal

  This is a story by Bernadette Hogan, Cayla Bamberger, Nolan Hicks and Natalie O'Neill for the New York Post. This story is about masking for young kids and the struggle within the local government on what is best to do. A Staten Island judge ruled against masks for toddlers in New York City. Parents in support of this claim that this is a good thing because masks could make it harder for kids to socialize and read emotions. Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, plans to appeal this to reinstate masks, where he believes that if you don't know the vaccination status of everyone in a room that you should wear a mask.
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  2021-10-02

  Shannon Connelly Oral History, 2021/10/05

  The contributor of this item did not include verbal or written consent. We attempted to contact contributor (or interviewee if possible) to get consent, but got no response or had incomplete contact information. We can not allow this interview to be listened to without consent but felt the metadata is important. The recording and transcript are retained by the archive and not public. Should you wish to listen to audio file reach out to the archive and we will attempt to get consent.
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  2021-03-17

  Is Early Childhood Development Declining?

  There are socialization concerns among adults and adolescents, and most are aware of the reasons behind that. However, children still in early developmental stages (infants, toddlers) may struggle in the long-term. The article primarily revolves around the words and expertise of senior scientist at Haskins Laboratories and a professor adjunct at the Yale Child Study Center, David Lewkowicz. There are physical, emotional, and mental struggles that could negatively impact early childhood development. Examples of these struggles are with how they learn languages by visual and auditory associations, which can be difficult with masks. Another related to masks is facial recognition. Lewkowicz isn't filled with bad news, though. More time and direct attention given to face-to-face interactions and more explicit expressions of emotions can help compensate. These early years are when children are very adaptable as they take in the world around them, so there is hope for more perceptive children coming out of the pandemic rather than a decline.
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  2021-02-03

  How does the pandemic affect children?

  This link discusses if experts are really worried about if the development of toddlers is important or are there bigger issues. A fact stated in this text says " that 60% of teenagers say they’re lonely to deeply troubling federal data that revealed a 24% jump in mental health-related emergency room visits among 5- to 11-year-olds." This is a very concerning matter as children as young as 5-11 should be living a healthy life mentally and physically as those are the prime time of their growth and development. It goes on to talk about how these prime timed years of a child's life affect how he is as an adult. Certain aspects that small roles in a child's life may unknowingly affect it as it grows.
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  2021-01-11

  How does the pandemic affect children?

  This link provided discusses the lack of social development that is being portrayed in toddlers as most of them have fewer interactions with people other than their intermediate family and friends. Much of the time when they do see others, they are in masks which makes it difficult for them to understand emotion and detect feelings. The mother in the article discusses that she does not know if it's her introverted genes that have been passed on to the child or if it's just the lack of social development the toddler has.
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  2020-06-24

  The New Reality of California's Preschools

  "Gone are family-style meals and snacks where children serve themselves. And no more sharing toys." If it sounds grim to you, it sort of is. Children are having to stay six feet away from one another just like any other person. The difference is that a lot of these children are still far too young to understand why. Safety guidelines have been provided from the California Department of Public Health, county departments of public health, and the California Department of Social Services. This is in a notable and admirable attempt to grab some semblance of normalcy back while remaining cautious. Some other changes include, but are not limited to, having toys be sanitized after use, physical touch (i.e. hugging) are kept to a minimum, and children cannot play outside (such as the playground structures). A big problem seems to be with the touch, though. A lot of these children, as young as 2 years old, start crying and need some physical comfort. Although some of these new guidelines are straightforward and simple, they're not easily implemented as it can easily hinder a child's development and understanding of the world.
• 2021-01-21

  Symptons of Covid-19

  There are many symptoms of Covid-19. My Nana got covid and here are the symptoms she had, she had a sore throat, and was coughing, she also had a little bit of a headache. Within about 2 to 3 weeks her symptoms were gone. What I've learned from people who have had covid is that it affects everyone very differently. These 3-year-old twin girls that I babysit got it and one of them just had a runny nose and the other didn't have any symptoms. However, the mom who also got it and lost her smell and taste and that's all the symptoms she had. Some other common symptoms are sore throat, headache, muscle aches, loss of taste and smell, cough, fatigue, and vomiting.
• 
  2020-11-03

  Life for a toddler during a pandemic

  A mother shares how coronavirus has impacted the life of her toddler. Her daughter's routine has drastically changed, and there is a lot of confusion when trying to explain what is actually going on in the world right now.
• 2020-08-09

  I'm sorry my love.

  Dear son, I am so sorry you are having to live through these crazy times. You are only three and don't understand why we can't go see your grandparents and your friends. I know that it sucks that we can't play outside and living in an apartment makes it even worse. It will be over some day soon. I am so proud of you wearing your mask anytime we have to go somewhere. I am so glad you're in such good spirts at all times. When all of this is all over we will go and visit family and friends. We might have lost a year but my love we will go on vacation and see our family and friends. Just a little longer and we won't have to wear our masks. Until then my son keep strong and we will get through this.
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  2020-08-08

  COVID-19's impact on School and our response

  I found this picture showed how one aspect of our life has adapted to this crisis. What is more interesting is what this picture may say for our future. My daughter's daycare requires all children 2 years of age or older to wear masks. They understand not all children will wear the mask at all times or possibly at all. The daycare's hope is to introduce the children to masks in a fun way to ease the transition of wearing a mask. It is this change in mind set of our children I find most interesting. It is this unknowable, not knowing how long our life may be impacted that has made us do this change. This adaptability we display I find most hopeful to these unknown times.
• 
  03/19/2020

  The Impact of Virtual Story Time During Coronavirus Stay At Home Orders: Librarians Host Virtual Story Times

  A news segment highlighting the virtual story time that many librarians are now hosting. *Gretchen Grewe, Fordham University, SOCI 2800 *Video clip of broadcast television
• 2020-05-18

  Purpose of COVID-19 by Jennifer Shanteau

  This virus is an awakening. We saw how much better our planet is for just this short time without our usual insults. I swear the birds sing louder. We are discovering that some of us are very strong- heroes. We started to think, and create, and find ways to change, and move forward positively. We shared food, and masks, and hope. There were sadly also those who haven’t grown, and didn’t want to see the virus, so they looked away, unable to handle it, causing many deaths. These same people want everything to go back to the way it was. The way, if you are paying attention, it can never be again. They are like toddlers without their binky, having tantrums, frightened of moving forward to our inevitable new reality. We will never have an opportunity like this again to really see ourselves. We were forced to look in the mirror. We can’t look away. We have to fix our face.