If you have little ones in your family who were very locked down due to the pandemic

[Drama Llama]

How did their first experiences with people outside the nuclear family go?

A couple I am very close to has a 14 month old with a heart defect.  He is doing great, but because he's high risk he really hasn't gone anywhere in the pandemic, other than check ups and a small surgery.  He's an only child.  Both parents work from home and there's a grandparent in the house hold.  He's seen other kids from a distance on a walk, or at the park, but has never been within 6 feet of one.  He's never met another family member except on Zoom, although he's waved at us from the door step when we dropped off Christmas presents.

I am wondering how it will go when we eventually meet him.  Did you have kids with similar limits?  How did the first meeting go?  Did the baby recognize you in person?  Were they shy?

[Slache]

He kept to us for several months, then ventured where siblings existed only, is now completely feral. There was no real fear or being upset, he was just clingy.

[Slache]

It definitely took a while but by a year old he recognized Pastor in church as the guy in the TV screen and he was okay with him.

[barnwife]

Our 18 month old has been pretty locked down. I think he's been is a store twice. He absolutely refuses to sit in the cart. It caused epic tantrums both times. Whatever, go ahead and walk, kid. We've been to playgrounds that are mostly empty, so he's seen other kids, but not many his age. Also, he has 4 older siblings, so that has helped the handful of times we've seen cousins. 

Like a pp, I'd say he's more clingy/cautious around others than our older kids were at this age. But as long as we don't make a big deal of it/I hold him, the times he's seen others he warms up fairly quickly. 

Actually, we visited a park on our way to see my mom recently and there was another toddler his size/age. They had an epic staring contest as they sized each other up. The other mom and I laughed about our pandemic kids. 

[Farrar]

Not quite that locked down, but that's basically what happened with one of my nephews who was just a baby when the pandemic began and is an older toddler now. I haven't had a ton of contact or anything, but he seems to have been fine. 

[KidsHappen]

My youngest gc was born in Jan. '20 and has basically only spent time with our immediate family (grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles and cousins). She still hasn't really interacted with outsiders so I am not sure how it will go but she doesn't really have much reason to so it might be quite a while before that happens.

[Dianthus]

Nm

Edited June 28, 2022 by Spirea

[KSera]

Mine isn’t quite as young, but was two when it started and we’ve been pretty locked down, and especially so before the rest of us were vaccinated. For him, between having siblings and seeing people on zoom, for some reason it hasn’t phased him at all. People he’s seen on zoom he’s just as normal with in person. He had a grandparent visit last year after a year of not seeing them, and warmed right up. I’m feeling like it’s part personality and part continued exposure via having a large family and seeing other family members on zoom. 🤷‍♀️

[rebcoola]

Mine is a little older just turned 3 but we were very locked down.  It's been mostly fine she was very shy of the teacher when we started swim lessons but it's been a month and she is over it. 

[Clarita]

Mine was not yet 2 when pandemic started. She definitely had some separation anxiety when we first emerged from the pandemic. Also she is still a little wary of new kids (although she is progressively getting better). She started off refusing to even say hi to other kids. Now after a few months of being able to see other kids on a regular basis; she is starting to have her own friends. 

Of course this is just one kid who was my more clingy kid to start with.

[Carrie12345]

I have a nephew who is 3 now. He has no real pre-pandemic conscious memory. My sister was in a pinch and had to take him into a gas station store at one point, and he basically felt about it the same way some kids think of Disney.  It’s all he wanted to do.

He’s in pre-k and daycare now. There are issues, but I’m reluctant to attribute them to isolation. Our family is… very neurodiverse, iykwim.  I have no idea what’s a chicken and what’s an egg.

For a 1yo, I would put keep myself as relaxed as possible and follow their lead.  Years ago, I didn’t meet my niece until she was around that age, and it was with my family of 7, plus my step-brother’s family of 5, who she didn’t know well.  It was SOOOO hard to resist getting in her space and loving on her, but who wants to terrify a confused baby?!?
She warmed up.

[Elizabeth86]

My baby was 2 when we locked down, but lots of kids here. Her first time in a store, she was sitting in the cart and someone came close to us and she just looked me straight in the eye and said “I hate people.” Then when we were in line she dropped whatever she was holding and someone picked it up to hand it to her and she started screaming and yelling and kicking. I wanted to apologize, but seriously, pandemic ya know, 6 feet. She is 4 and does ok now. The first time she actually went anywhere she kept repeating, “We are actually leaving our home.” So, she was very affected short term, but we get out more now and she seems ok. My kids were 2, 4, 7, an 8 when the pandemic started and honestly they are all a little more awkward and shy than before, but we are all ok.

[Cordelia]

DD was born during the initial lockdown. She is still very shy and takes a long time to warm up to people. It took her about 4 months to go to her class at church without crying. She may just be an introvert like DS, but it's hard to tell at this age. 

[73349]

I think it must be so hard to tell how much of it is just the kid. DS from 8 months to 4 years was not a fan of new people (primarily adults), and if we had been isolated, I would have been inclined to attribute it in part to that.