Seoul City and Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Sign Agreement to Support Infant and Toddler Health

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government, together with the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, is taking the lead nationwide in collaborating to support developmental assistance for creating a healthy growth environment for infants and toddlers in the post-COVID-19 era.

On the 19th, Mayor Oh Se-hoon signed the "Seoul Metropolitan Government?Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Memorandum of Understanding" with Chairman Kim Bung-nyeon. Through this agreement, Seoul and the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry will begin professional and systematic research and support for the healthy growth of infants and toddlers born during the COVID-19 era and growing up in the post-COVID environment.

This memorandum of understanding is a follow-up measure to the agenda discussed by the Seoul Childcare Special Advisory Group, directly under the Seoul Mayor, which was launched in February to create a "Seoul, a special city for raising children." The advisory group, composed of Chairperson Lee Soon-hyung (Emeritus Professor, Department of Child and Family Studies, Seoul National University) and Committee Member Shin Eui-jin (Professor, Yonsei University College of Medicine), among others, agreed at their first meeting that "infants and toddlers are the biggest victims of COVID-19," expressing urgent concern over delayed brain development due to lack of interaction while wearing masks and insufficient experiential activities, emphasizing the need for Seoul to prepare countermeasures.

Accordingly, Seoul has formed a "dream team" composed of top experts in infant and toddler brain development from the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to collaborate in five areas: ▲ Investigation and statistical analysis of brain development in language, cognition, and social skills of infants and toddlers in the post-COVID era ▲ Awareness-raising campaigns supporting healthy growth of infants and toddlers ▲ Lectures and academic events related to balanced growth and development of infants and toddlers ▲ Educational support to enhance expertise of daycare teachers in infant and toddler developmental psychology ▲ Exchange and cooperation on various projects related to physical and mental health promotion of infants and toddlers.

In particular, the "Post-COVID Era Infant and Toddler Brain Development Survey" is the first nationwide post-COVID childcare policy project that will assess the developmental status of 600 infants and toddlers residing in Seoul in areas such as language, communication, emotion, and social skills through both online and offline channels. For the online survey, parents can directly apply for their child's developmental assessment through the "Seoul-i Online Developmental Counseling Center." An expert team consisting of child psychiatrists, developmental psychologists, and linguists plans to 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.

Seoul is preparing to establish the "Seoul-i Developmental Counseling Center" to ensure that this survey project leads to practical support for the developmental advancement of infants and toddlers rather than remaining solely academic research. The "Seoul-i Developmental Counseling Center" is scheduled to open in March 2023 and is expected to serve as a central hub supporting the healthy development of infants and toddlers residing in Seoul.

Additionally, through this agreement, Seoul plans to hold awareness campaigns and expert lectures on infant and toddler development in collaboration with the medical academy. In particular, the week including "Childcare Workers' Day" in October will be designated as "Childcare Week," during which various programs providing practical support to parents raising infants and toddlers will be jointly planned.

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Meanwhile, at the signing ceremony, the "Seoul-type Transparent Mask" was unveiled, attracting attention. The need for infant-friendly transparent masks was also discussed previously by the Seoul Childcare Special Advisory Group. Following the advisory group's recommendation, Seoul immediately began producing the "Seoul-type Transparent Mask" and showcased it for the first time at this ceremony.

The newly distributed "Seoul-type Transparent Mask" maximizes the transparent window area and is made in warm colors favored by infants. Additionally, it was improved to be more familiar to infants by allowing teachers and children to attach stickers to the mask, integrating play into the mask. The "Seoul-type Transparent Mask" will be provided to 25,000 teachers of infant classes starting in May.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, "I am very honored to sign this memorandum of understanding with the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to create a healthy developmental environment for infants and toddlers who will lead the future of Seoul and Korea." He added, "We will continue to monitor and support our children who are spending their infancy during the COVID-19 pandemic so that they can grow into healthy and happy adolescents."

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