The devastating toll of the pandemic has underscored the critical importance of connecting what science is telling us to the lived experiences of people and communities. In March of 2020, we recorded episodes exploring the impact the coronavirus pandemic could have on child development. Now, a year later, we wanted to continue these conversations and discuss what we've learned, what needs to change, and where we go from here.


Contents
Podcast
Speakers
Additional Resources
Transcript


The first guest in this 4-part special series is Center Director Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D. He and host Sally Pfitzer discuss what COVID-19 revealed about the needs of caregivers with young children or during pregnancy, what we learned about the importance of science over the course of the pandemic, and how we can make changes going forward.

Upcoming episodes of this series will feature expert speakers reflecting on the pandemic's impact on pediatric and mental health systems, and the longstanding social policies and systemic racism that resulted in the pandemic disparately impacting communities of color. The experts will discuss how we can take what we learned over the past year and make meaningful changes that will improve outcomes for children and families. Subscribe below via your podcast platform of choice to receive all new episodes as soon as they’re released.




Speakers


Sally Pfitzer, Podcast Host

Dr. Jack Shonkoff, Center Director




Additional Resources
Resources from the Center on the Developing Child



Re-Envisioning, Not Just Rebuilding: Looking Ahead to a Post-COVID-19 World
The Brain Architects: COVID-19 Special Edition: A Different World
Working Paper 15: Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body: Early Childhood Development and Lifelong Health Are Deeply Intertwined
InBrief: Connecting the Brain to the Rest of the Body
Health and Learning Are Deeply Interconnected in the Body: An Action Guide for Policymakers
What Is Inflammation? And Why Does it Matter for Child Development?
How Racism Can Affect Child Development
Moving Upstream: Confronting Racism to Open Up Children's Potential
A Guide to COVID-19 and Early Childhood Development






Transcript
Sally: Welcome to The Brain Architects, a podcast from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. I'm your host Sally Pfitzer. In March of 2020, we recorded episodes exploring the impact the coronavirus pandemic could have on child development. You may remember we discussed the importance of self-care for caregivers, and the importance of physical distancing, not social distancing.  And now a year later, we wanted to continue those conversations and discuss what we've learned, what needs to change, and where we go from here.

Joining us today is Dr. Jack Shonkoff, Director of the Center on the Developing Child. Jack, we really appreciate you being here, and I know we have a lot to cover, so let's jump right in. Could you tell us what COVID-19 has revealed about the needs of young children, families and people who are pregnant?

Dr. Shonkoff: So immediately, we saw the difference between people who had access to resources that helped them get through and those who before the pandemic were always at the edge and that this put families over the edge in terms of meeting basic needs—food, clothing, housing.  But then, there's the other universal experience of the critical importance of supportive relationships—the critical importance of extended family, neighbors, friends—and the extent to which every parent, regardless of your circumstances, cannot parent a child alone. And the social isolation that so many people felt, from the poorest to the wealthiest.

And so, I think if there's anything good to take out of this past year, it's a recognition of the universal needs that all families have to provide a healthy environment for their children,