In 2020, much of the world was focused on the dangers COVID-19 posed to older adults and public health systems. Six years later, scientists are turning their attention to a different group: children born during pandemic lockdowns.
Early findings from the United Kingdom suggest that these children, who are now reaching preschool and early elementary school age, may have experienced slower development in what researchers call executive functions.
These abilities allow people to organize their thoughts, control impulses, remember instructions, adapt to unfamiliar circumstances, complete tasks, and solve problems.
The research is the first major British study to follow children born specifically during the country’s initial lockdown, between March and June 2020.
Researchers assessed 205 children using standardized language and reasoning tests. Their parents also completed detailed questionnaires about their children’s everyday behavior.
The study was observational, meaning it cannot establish that lockdown conditions directly caused the developmental difficulties. Nevertheless, researchers identified a noticeable pattern.
Nearly one in three children was described by their parents as having greater needs related to executive functioning. These difficulties may include problems concentrating, completing an activity, following instructions, staying organized, or regulating emotions.
Motor development was generally found to be within the expected range, while children’s ability to understand language remained relatively strong.
Lower performance was detected in expressive language, which refers to a child’s ability to communicate thoughts and feelings through spoken words.
Was the Virus Responsible, or the Conditions of Lockdown?
Researchers believe the explanation is more likely to be found in the conditions in which these children spent their earliest months than in the virus itself.
Their infancy coincided with a period when playgrounds, parent-and-baby groups, family visits, and contact with other children and adults were severely restricted. For many, social interaction was limited almost entirely to their parents.
Parents may have spent more time speaking directly to their children, which could help explain why language comprehension was not significantly affected.
Developing expressive language and executive functions, however, requires a broader range of social experiences. Children benefit from interacting with different people, encountering unfamiliar situations, and playing alongside their peers.
The British findings add to a growing body of international research published in 2025 and 2026 that points to slower executive-function development among children in the years following the pandemic.
The effects vary depending on children’s family circumstances and wider social environment. The broader conclusion, however, is that prolonged social isolation left a measurable mark on the cognitive development of many young children.
There is also reason for optimism. Executive functions are not fixed or unchangeable. They continue developing throughout childhood and can be strengthened through play, physical activity, music, reading, cooperation with peers, and a supportive school environment.
Researchers therefore caution against describing children born during lockdown as a lost generation.
Instead, they emphasize that identifying difficulties early can lead to targeted support at home and at school, substantially reducing their long-term effects.
