Seoul City Conducts First Survey on Developmental Status of 600 Infants and Toddlers During COVID-19 Period... Applications Open

Diagnosis of Language, Cognitive, and Emotional Development in Infants and Toddlers Due to Prolonged COVID-19 Mask Wearing
Developmental Test Applications Open Until the 7th of Next Month for Daycare Centers or Families Raising Young Children

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 24th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that, in collaboration with the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, it will conduct the nation's first developmental status survey targeting 600 infants and toddlers who experienced the COVID-19 period. Plans are also in place to establish related follow-up support measures after the survey.

Children who spent their infancy and toddler years during the COVID-19 pandemic face a lack of overall interaction and social activities, placing them in an environment where development is delayed across all areas including language, emotion, cognition, and social skills. Accordingly, on the 19th of last month, Seoul signed a business agreement with the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and decided to officially begin professional and systematic surveys and support for the healthy growth of infants and toddlers born during the COVID era and growing up in the post-COVID environment.

This survey is a follow-up project to the business agreement between Seoul and the Academy of Psychiatry, and by utilizing both online and offline channels, it is expected to become the nation's first post-COVID childcare policy project that assesses the developmental status of 600 infants and toddlers residing in Seoul in areas such as language, communication, emotion, and social skills.

For the online survey, parents can directly apply for their child's developmental status assessment through the 'Seoul Child Online Development Counseling Center.' A team of experts composed of child psychiatrists, developmental psychologists, and linguists will conduct professional assessments and diagnoses related to the child's developmental status and parent-child relationships for 100 parents raising children aged 0 to 5 at home.

The offline survey involves developmental experts visiting daycare centers located in Seoul to diagnose the developmental status of 500 infants and toddlers. Child development and psychology experts will visit daycare centers to check essential developmental tasks by age group and closely observe interactions with peers and childcare teachers to diagnose the developmental status of individual children.

Seoul plans to announce the results in November after the online and offline surveys and final analysis by the expert team from the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Seoul intends for this survey project not to end with mere investigation but to prepare for practical support to promote infant and toddler development, thereby creating a new childcare paradigm that evolves in line with the post-COVID era.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Women and Family Policy Office, stated, “While overseas studies have been published on the impact of COVID-19 on infant and toddler development, a public-led full-scale survey has not yet been conducted in Korea. We plan to systematically conduct a status survey and prepare related follow-up support measures so that our children who are spending their infancy and toddler years during the COVID-19 pandemic can grow up healthy and happy.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.