# Children born during pandemic have lower IQs, US study finds **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 13, 2021, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593 "2021-08-13T14:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/1 "2021-08-13T14:03:01Z")
> **[Children born during pandemic have lower IQs, US study finds](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/12/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds)** > > Researchers blame lack of stimulation as parents balanced childcare with working from home Is it really plausible for the pandemic to have such a huge effect? I would have thought the effects would be much worse for toddlers and kids, who need to socialise with their peers, and were prevented from going to school. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/2 "2021-08-13T14:13:58Z")
I have a hard time placing much faith in IQ testing done on a group of under 2 year old. Might be telling that the analysis “which is yet to be peer-reviewed.” This is probably just a good click getting headline in the end. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/3 "2021-08-13T14:15:34Z")
Just searched “youngest a child can be tested for I Q” and first return was “When Can My Child Be Tested for Giftedness?” Article stated that children cannot be tested for I Q before age 2. Didn’t read the study cited (I guess it was cited) in the Guardian article, I’ll leave that to the next guy. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/4 "2021-08-13T14:17:08Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I have a hard time placing much faith in IQ testing done on a group of under 2 year old. Might be telling that the analysis “which is yet to be peer-reviewed.” Agreed. This is unsubstantiated clickbait. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/5 "2021-08-13T14:21:44Z")
IQ tests are shaky enough for adults. For babies and toddlers? Come on. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/6 "2021-08-13T14:32:26Z")
[![](https://thebyronicmandotcom2.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/4779840.jpg) ](https://thebyronicmandotcom2.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/4779840.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/7 "2021-08-13T14:32:57Z")
According to the study they used the _Mullen Scales of Early Learning_ (_MSEL_) to assess the babies/toddlers. @DSeid, what do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/8 "2021-08-13T14:34:13Z")
Beyond the fact that it’s a non-peer reviewed preprint, some problems with the study are apparent on review. Much of their analysis deals with a “dataset” of 39 children. That’s not a lot of kids to draw conclusions from. Elsewhere they mention looking at two groups of kids, one involving 291 children whose early development came before the pandemic hit, and 118 whose early development coincided with the era of Covid-19. It seems to me you’d want to compare groups much more similar in size. The report also includes statements like this: “The strong effect of the pandemic on early neurodevelopment suggests that maternal stress, already shown to be increased in mothers at the start of the pandemic may be an important factor. However, including maternal stress, recorded both prenatally and following delivery into our model, in place of the Model term was not significant (Table 6). Indeed, when examining perceived stress in mothers by year we find (Fig. 5) no significant increase or decrease during the pandemic compared to pre- pandemic years.” Also, they acknowledge that there was no direct evaluation or parent reporting of interactions with children, so they’re entirely speculating about the pandemic reducing such interactions (it seems counter-intuitive to me that stay-at-home parents would interact _less_ with their kids, but whatever). Conclusion: weak sauce. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/9 "2021-08-13T14:35:59Z")
I’m more concerned about the fate of all those Pandemic Puppies that were adopted by bored people, stuck at home, and who are now going back to their former lives. But that’s me 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/10 "2021-08-13T14:45:35Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > it seems counter-intuitive to me that stay-at-home parents would interact _less_ with their kids, but whatever That’s what I thought too, but I can’t help worrying that being stuck at home for the first year or her life, barely seeing anyone other than her parents was bad for my daughter in some way. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/11 "2021-08-13T16:06:23Z")
How do kids that age color in the little circles with their number two Ticonderogas? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/12 "2021-08-13T17:07:04Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > This is probably just a good click getting headline in the end. To be followed by “One weird trick to make your toddler a genius!” The War Against The Machines has begun, but instead of murderbot cyborgs and hunter-killer drones, the malignant AI is using memes and clickbait. They are highly effective, have a wide field of effect, and never misfire or require a magazine change. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/13 "2021-08-13T17:26:31Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Also, they acknowledge that there was no direct evaluation or parent reporting of interactions with children, so they’re entirely speculating about the pandemic reducing such interactions (it seems counter-intuitive to me that stay-at-home parents would interact _less_ with their kids, but whatever). Well, parents might interact with their kids more, but kids probably had less human interaction overall. All the parents I know have mentioned that their kids’ screen time has skyrocketed. And not just because of online learning – in addition to that. Parents whose kids used to be out of the house in daycare or school – getting beneficial care involving human interaction – now pretty much had to resort to letting the kids have screen time in order for the parents to get work done. I don’t buy permanent loss of IQ as a result, but I would not be surprised if there are some delays of development, as well as increased issues with focus and attention, and other issues associated with overexposure to screens at a young age. Likewise, there are probably social delays, at least for some kids. These seem pretty obvious and unremarkable given the events of the past year and a half. I suspect many of the effects are still reversible though. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/14 "2021-08-13T17:42:21Z")
Concur with the rest. I saw the title and thought that there is no way whatsoever to make that determination at this point. Even if the tests were somehow accurate for their intelligence **right now** , it’s well known that developmental delays often get caught back up later on. We wouldn’t be able to get data on this for a decade, really. That said, a stressful time causing some issues? That wouldn’t be surprising. But it’s not like it would have been less stressful if we’d not tried to do anything to contain the virus. I’m pretty sure seeing everyone upset at 1 in 100 or more people they know dying, and the full on second Great Depression would have been far more stressful for a longer period. I’m all for looking into this data. But just don’t take it to mean anything like “we screwed up.” There’s no control. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/15 "2021-08-13T20:38:59Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’m all for looking into this data. But just don’t take it to mean anything like “we screwed up.” There’s no control. I hadn’t even thought of the political aspect. But if the US had decent maternity leave, there wouldn’t have been so many parents trying to care for young babies and work at the same time. What happened to people who were unable to work due to lockdown? ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/16 "2021-08-15T00:34:49Z")
Total anecdotal non evidential stuff follows: My neighbour had a child born just before the pandemic. I saw a fair bit of her as her parents were going in and out but of course I never got close to her and nor did anyone else apart from mum and dad of course. It seemed to me that she was an unusually quiet and solemn infant. When I smiled and waved at her she would just stare wide eyed. Now she is older and things have opened up so she is seeing family and going to nursery etc she is smiling and babbling. She smiles back at me and attempts a wave. I must say I feel relieved for her. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there hasn’t been some effect on the lockdown babies. I think (well, hope) they will catch up. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/17 "2021-08-15T01:13:11Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > I’m more concerned about the fate of all those Pandemic Puppies . . . When I read about that, I wondered how quickly dog breeders, responsible or otherwise, could actually increase puppy production. It seems to me it would take a couple years. Reducing puppy production can be done more quickly (2 month gestation period), Some hobby breeders must have put off breeding out of concern they would catch COVID from puppy purchasers. Maybe shelters adopted out some elderly or less friendly dogs who would otherwise have been euthanized, although I think there are a lot less euthanizations than there used to be. Admittedly, the pandemic IQ drop is inherently even less plausible than an increase in dog sales/adoptions. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/18 "2021-08-15T01:16:37Z")
There’s a growing body of data showing that, regardless of age, COVID can lead to lower IQs and cognitive ability. It’s not necessarily true of all patients and the research is ongoing. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/19 "2021-08-15T11:18:02Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there hasn’t been some effect on the lockdown babies. I think (well, hope) they will catch up. That’s what I would have thought would happen. My daughter (born at the start of lockdown) was definitely behind in her social development, but I think and hope she is catching up now. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593/20 "2021-08-15T11:30:43Z")
Whatever the truth of it, I am sure that there will be a wide difference between the American experience and the European. Our daughter gave birth in February and is planning to return to work in September which is when her four-year-old starts school. Before the birth, she was working mostly from home and the older child was at her nursery school, so has not missed out at all. Naturally, they are both budding geniusses. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/children-born-during-pandemic-have-lower-iqs-us-study-finds/948593.md?page=2)