{"id":273518,"date":"2026-01-31T10:07:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T10:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/273518\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T10:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T10:07:13","slug":"how-screens-and-covid-are-shaping-childhood-in-ireland-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/273518\/","title":{"rendered":"How screens and Covid are shaping childhood in Ireland \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cChildren are starting junior infants<\/a> lacking many of the very basic skills we would have taken for granted 10 years ago, such as how to have a conversation, how to play with toys, how to pretend, how to focus on a task for more than two minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

When teacher<\/a> Aisling Mullally wrote a letter to The Irish Times<\/a> earlier this month expressing her concerns for primary schools\u2019 youngest children, it prompted discussions across various platforms about how Ireland\u2019s children are coping with what were once considered basic tasks. <\/p>\n

Mullally penned the letter<\/a> after a discussion among her colleagues. \u201cWe all agreed that in the last five to 10 years there\u2019s been a massive deterioration in children\u2019s ability to concentrate and focus at school,\u201d she says now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings that we would always have assumed children learned at home before they ever started school, we\u2019re having to teach them.\u201d <\/p>\n

Her comments are echoed in research findings over the past number of years.<\/p>\n

A 2025 study of junior infant teachers by Mary Immaculate College<\/a> in Limerick, covering 107 classes across the State and encompassing more than 2,000 pupils, highlighted similar trends. The findings of the study suggested teachers felt there may be differences in the skills and capabilities of children starting school in September 2024 compared with those who started school before the pandemic. Some 42 per cent of teachers highlighted issues around the ability of more children starting school to manage personal care.<\/p>\n

The study suggested children who started school after the pandemic experienced more separation anxiety from their parents, more anxiety in general and less emotional regulation.<\/p>\n

More than 80 per cent of teachers said there were more pupils with emotional or behavioural issues, while most agreed that classroom behaviour was worse and that fewer children could sit and pay attention or take turns.<\/p>\n

Most teachers in the study also said there is a considerable increase in speech, language and communication difficulties with the children, as well as difficulties with fine motor control, such as using a pencil.<\/p>\n

One teacher quoted said the class of junior infants who began school in 2024 had \u201cbeen the most challenging class I have had in 27 years of teaching\u201d.<\/p>\n

While this cohort of children spent their early childhood growing up during the Covid-19 pandemic \u2013 against a backdrop of lockdowns and social restrictions \u2013 the study says the factors behind the increase in junior infants being less \u201cready\u201d cannot be pinpointed definitively.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile an all-Ireland study of more than 2,000 children aged between 5 and 12 carried out by DCU in 2020<\/a> found one in four primary school children cannot run properly and lack basic movement skills.<\/p>\n

The research, titled Moving Well-Being Well, showed that one in four children of primary school age cannot run properly, one in two cannot kick a ball properly, and fewer than one in five can throw a ball.<\/p>\n

It also found that fundamental movement skills such as running, jumping, catching and kicking plateau and stop progressing when children reach the age of 10. <\/p>\n

Children were tested on their run, skip, gallop, slide, hop, horizontal jump as well as catching, throwing, kicking and striking the ball. They were also tested on their balance.<\/p>\n

The findings show an absence of proficiency across all these tests throughout primary school, showing 60.6 per cent of mastery in balance while just over half mastered running, skipping and jumping skills and similarly just over half mastered their catching and throwing skills.<\/p>\n

Previous research had found that children could master all of these skills by the age of 8.<\/p>\n

One of the authors of the DCU report, Stephen Behan, who is assistant professor at the school of health and human performance, says fundamental movement skills in Ireland are \u201cquite low. We know that there is a decline, and that they\u2019re getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Children who have better proficiency in fundamental movement skills go on to be more active in their teenage years, he explains. \u201cWe want kids to have a broad range of movement skills at a young age.\u201d <\/p>\n

Children with a broad range of skills are more likely to be motivated to take parts in activities that require the skills, which in turn means they get better, he says. <\/p>\n

When the study was conducted parents were asked what they found to be the biggest barriers to being active with their children. \u201cTime, by a country mile\u201d was the most frequent reply, Behan says. But activity doesn\u2019t need to be all in one block, he says. \u201cTen minutes playing with your kids is brilliant. It\u2019s activity for everyone. Whether that\u2019s going out kicking a ball around, whether that\u2019s practising cartwheels, or even just playing a bit of chasing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StephenStephen Behan: ‘I learnt from the older kids. The younger kids learnt from me. Kids are great mimickers’ <\/p>\n

As grim as the statistics around children\u2019s fundamental movement skills appear, Behan believes knowledge is power. \u201cThe way I look at it is, it\u2019s an opportunity. We know interventions to improve fundamental movement skills work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mullally says she believes screens have played an instrumental role in this. She describes children struggling with colouring, holding pencils, and following stories. \u201cEven just having conversations,\u201d she adds. \u201cListening to what one person is saying and respond[ing], instead of just going off on your own little monologue.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019re looking at screens and listening to people who are talking at them rather than having a two-way conversation, and making eye contact, she says.<\/p>\n

Educational online content is not sufficient either: \u201cNo television programme or YouTube video is as educational as going outside and jumping in a puddle, or climbing a wall.\u201d Parents may believe \u201cthat they\u2019re keeping their children safe by keeping them inside, rather than having them outside roaming the streets. But actually roaming the streets is the best thing that they could be doing. That\u2019s where you learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mullally acknowledges that current infant classes are \u201cCovid babies\u201d. \u201cDuring Covid a lot of children were left looking at screens because their parents were trying to work at home \u2026 the children that we\u2019re talking about are the product of that.\u201d She\u2019s very conscious of the time pressures parents are under. \u201cMaybe 1769854031 it\u2019s just that parents don\u2019t have time to bring their children to the park. There\u2019s so many demands in life, and they\u2019re struggling to work and get a dinner ready and bring children to their football training. And they perhaps just don\u2019t have time to fit in the incidental messing around.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Dyslexia in the classroom: \u2018It was like asking a fish to climb a tree\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Parents need to look at their own screen use, and shouldn\u2019t give phones to toddlers, she says. \u201cIf you\u2019re in the car, or waiting in the doctor\u2019s surgery, or you\u2019re bringing your baby out for a walk \u2026 they need to be looking at the world around them, because they\u2019re missing out on so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AislingAisling Mullally: ‘Just turn off the screens, and spend more time talking to your children.’ Photograph: Alan Betson <\/p>\n

She also feels schools need to take some responsibility. \u201cWe\u2019ve become over reliant on technology. Sometimes it\u2019s better to turn off the whiteboard and go back to the old-fashioned way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aoife, who did not want to use her surname, is a parent of two. She agrees that screens have had a significant impact on the skills children have today, but wonders if it would be more appropriate to adjust schooling to reflect the world we live in rather than pretend we don\u2019t live in a \u201cdevice world\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve the laptop on [for work]. I have the phone on while I\u2019m doing the dinner, because I\u2019m getting the Tesco shop the next day. I\u2019m not necessarily doom scrolling all the time. Or I might get into bed to watch telly and that could be the time to catch up with friends during the day and reply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aoife\u2019s nine-year-old has a device. She restricts his access. \u201cYou try your best … but I see the four-year-old now, he is trying to get in on the action.\u201d<\/p>\n

She thinks the Department of Education needs to accept that the old approach to teaching \u201cdoesn\u2019t fly any more … We\u2019re all changing with the world, and the schools are not\u201d. <\/p>\n

While she doesn\u2019t agree with parents allowing their children excessive amounts of screen time, she believes removing screens is contrary to where the world is headed; technology will only become a larger part of their lives.<\/p>\n

She feels that in highlighting difficulties children are having with certain skills, schools overlook the demands of contemporary parenthood. There\u2019s no allowance for how time-poor parents are, she says; parents are doing their best. <\/p>\n

She agrees that teaching life skills is a parent\u2019s responsibility; her four-year-old can dress himself; her nine-year-old helps with dinner. The latter plays outside, but he wears a smart watch: \u201cHe does get freedom … but it\u2019s different times.\u201d<\/p>\n

We used to have children coming in knowing the fairy tales and nursery rhymes. And it\u2019s just not the case anymore<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Lisa N\u00ed Theaimhne\u00e1in<\/p>\n

Primary schoolteacher Lisa N\u00ed Theaimhne\u00e1in has also noticed a change in infant classes. \u201cI\u2019ve been teaching for 18 years and there\u2019s a big difference between the junior infants you\u2019d see coming in then and now.\u201d <\/p>\n

She too sees younger primary schoolchildren struggling to pay attention, irrespective of their ability or needs, and, like Mullally, identifies a link between this and children having \u201csomething in front of them all of the time\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would see an awful lot of kids coming in with an American accent, to the point that when I meet the parents I\u2019m expecting one of them to be American.\u201d Only then does she realise that, rather than acquiring their American accent from Mom or Dad, \u201cit\u2019s YouTube\u201d.<\/p>\n

She is aware of young children who received phones and digital devices for Christmas, and while they may not have Sim cards, the devices still provide a stream of constant content and distraction for their young owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can just turn it off and turn it on. It\u2019s bright and it\u2019s colourful. I\u2019m a 40-year-old teacher. I\u2019m not going to be able to be as bright and as colourful and loud as YouTube to keep their attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just their ability to concentrate. \u201cI\u2019d say if you put hopscotch in front of my gang, maybe half of them would know what to do with it … You\u2019d see girls, especially, out with skipping ropes 20 years ago. You don\u2019t see that any more.\u201d <\/p>\n

N\u00ed Theaimhne\u00e1in feels children \u201cgive up\u201d very easily now if they can\u2019t grasp a new skill immediately. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to have children coming in knowing the fairy tales and nursery rhymes. And it\u2019s just not the case any more. And I don\u2019t know if they\u2019re just perceived as old-fashioned now, or not as engaging. Because why would they want to listen to Three Little Pigs when they could be on Roblox?\u201d<\/p>\n

She has also observed a change in children\u2019s fine-motor skills, including reduced strength in their hands, which is creating issues for handwriting. She tries to build up their strength through playing with m\u00e1rla, something the children can resist because they feel it\u2019s \u201cbabyish\u201d. But it\u2019s necessary, she explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many kids came in this year and they\u2019ve never seen a jigsaw.\u201d She feels it\u2019s vitally important parents sit down and \u201cread a book every night, no matter what. Even if your child is the best reader in the world, they should still be read to. And discuss what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0How screen time interferes with the parent-child dynamicOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

As a parent herself, N\u00ed Theaimhne\u00e1in understands the pressures parents face, but remains very strict when it comes to her own child\u2019s screen time. This, she says, is \u201c100 per cent\u201d influenced by the consequences of what she\u2019s witnessing in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m also home from work at three o\u2019clock\u201d, she concedes. \u201cI don\u2019t blame any parent who has to collect their child from 2:30, needs to go back to work at home or whatever, and sticks the device on. You have to be understanding there too.\u201d <\/p>\n

N\u00ed Theaimhne\u00e1in doesn\u2019t feel that being \u201cCovid babies\u201d is behind the difficulties she\u2019s witnessing. \u201cMost professions were at home during Covid. Those children should have been spoken to so much more. There was so much more [time] to go baking with them, to bring them out to the green. There were so many more opportunities for people. Unless you were a doctor, or a GP, or someone who was flat out during the pandemic I really think that\u2019s an excuse. We all had a little bit more free time during Covid whether we liked it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just professionals who are noticing the differences in infant skills. Some parents have also observed a difference in their child\u2019s capabilities and how they interact with the world.<\/p>\n

\"AlanAlan LaCasse and his son Joshua. Photograph: Paulo Nunes dos Santos <\/p>\n

Father of five Alan LaCasse disputes that screens are primarily responsible for the challenges today\u2019s infants classes are alleged to be experiencing. As the father of a five-year-old \u201cCovid baby\u201d, he feels pandemic restrictions played a far bigger role in the problems children are experiencing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Covid baby had no interactions with anyone except family for the first year. All his siblings, at that same age, had been to cousins\u2019 parties, Communions and Confirmations and had lived at the park.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a house full of older children who had their own friends and ability to communicate with them via games consoles and social media, his main interaction and playtime was with me, which, while great fun, hasn\u2019t given him the ability to learn how to interact with children his own age.\u201d <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Covid stories: My son has severe autism. I\u2019m starting to feel quite desperate\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

He accepts that increased screen time may be playing a role in children reportedly struggling to play and interact but he feels that children\u2019s interactions being limited to family only, during what he describes as crucially formative years, was more significant. It was with \u201cimmediate family, who by definition will let the baby away with more, and encourage older siblings to hand over toys and games\u201d.<\/p>\n

Josh has little to no interest in toys and rarely interacts with other children at the park. He is autistic, and LaCasse believes that missing out on early opportunities for external interactions was critical. <\/p>\n

\u201cDuring those years, all my other children, including his sister, who is also autistic, lived at the park or out on the green, the younger kids toddling along behind their elder brothers. They learned about taking turns, winning and losing, communication skills etc. He got none of that. He\u2019s a curious boy, and I get the sense when he sees other children he is afraid to interact.\u201d His daughter, in contrast, would \u201cgo play with anyone as long as I was right there beside her\u201d.<\/p>\n

Removing screens won\u2019t solve Joshua\u2019s difficulties, LaCasse says. \u201cHaving access to screens has helped with his problem solving, learning he can\u2019t win at everything. Screens, if managed correctly, are a valuable tool. If it\u2019s just being used as a babysitter, then it can be an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the opinion of adolescent psychotherapist Dr Colman Noctor, the issue is not so much what children are doing on screens, \u201cbut what they are not doing while they are on screens\u201d, something he describes in the case of younger children as \u201copportunity cost\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 90s, 14-year-olds were babysitters; now 14-year-olds need babysitters,\u201d he says, referring to research \u201cthat showed preschoolers could count to 100 but couldn\u2019t open their lunch box\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing the first generation of adults who didn\u2019t grow up on the road, street or the green and the social atrophy of this change is being observed in their maturity trajectory.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cChildren are starting junior infants lacking many of the very basic skills we would have taken for granted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[133446,160,61,60,43,1786,11760,28230,976],"class_list":["post-273518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-child-psychology","tag-covid-19","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-parenting","tag-parents","tag-primary-level","tag-weekendreview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}