Lockdown is over, but there are still children missing from early childhood education centres, writes Merepeka Raukawa-Tait. Photo / Getty Images
OPINION
I visited an early childcare centre last month in Auckland.
I was there when it opened eight years ago. I called in to see how things were going.
The complex has grown with a lovely big building twice the size of the one it started with.
The outside play area was big, scattered with small breakout areas to enjoy, covered by a huge brightly coloured sunshade.
It looked impressive and with the sound of children at play I assumed everything was back to normal.
Meaning all children present and correct with activity levels back to the good old days before Covid-19 came calling.
Not so.
Talking to the staff I learned a third of the children had not returned since the lockdowns were lifted.
Twenty-five children no longer attended the centre.
It is in an area of Auckland where children do not normally attend kohanga reo or early childcare centres.
I am aware of the time and effort the centre staff put in reaching out to the community.
They held small community meetings. They would speak to and encourage parents to consider sending their children to the centre.
They spoke of the benefits their children would receive by attending preschool.
For these families, preschool has never been a priority.
Their children go straight from being at home to school when they turn 6 years old.
If their children were to attend preschool they would be the first ones in their large families to do so.
I observed the children at the centre and it appeared they all enjoyed being with each other.
They were absorbed in their activities and got me to sit down and join them.
They didn't appear shy or reserved and asked me to join them in a song.
They sang beautifully.
But I really wanted to know why 25 children had not returned to the centre.
What, if anything, was being done about it? Staff told me they had visited all the families and asked for the children to return.
The benefits of their children getting reintroduced to a classroom routine, albeit play centre, and the socialising with other children were highlighted - the same reasons that persuaded them to send their children in the first place.
It was not a question of money as the centre is able to operate with very little outlay from the parents.
It is in a Decile 1 area.
The parents explained they were worried about the emotional effects the lockdowns had on the children.
They were initially sad they could not go to play centre, being forced to stay home.
They enjoyed the play and learning experience.
They became restless at home. They got angry and then the problems of hyperactivity and inactivity started to set in.
Just as teachers are being supported to help students to reconnect and navigate school after lockdown it might be necessary for help to be provided to some parents to do the same.
I would have thought with lockdowns now a thing of the past - fingers crossed - children would be jumping with joy to return to school, including preschool.
To get back to their friends and familiar play and learning environment.
But it appears the two-year interruption to learning may have had a bigger impact on children than first thought.
Do we know enough about how children were affected by the lockdowns?
Do they feel anxious about time lost and now having to return to school?
Do they worry lockdowns could return?
Do they just want to stay home with the comfort and safety that provides?
Has a lack of confidence or feelings of dread surfaced over the past two years?
And how do parents even start to deal with some of these issues, if present?
Many are coming to terms with their own ability to live and work in a changed environment.
Support for teachers at this time is important but I don't think parents should be left to fend for themselves, unsupported if they're worried.
They are not educational and developmental psychologists. This is all new territory for them too.
Some children will bounce back into school and school routines, while others will continue to feel the emotional effects of Covid-19 lockdowns for much longer.
If children are not returning to early childhood centres and schools, then that suggests a parent may be struggling too.
The more information they have available to help them cope the better.
Perhaps some of the extensive "back to school after lockdown" teacher information could be modified and provided to parents who feel they might need support at this time.
But it's not going to be permanent.
There's no quick fix, and parents are not failing. We are in a huge transition and it can be extra difficult for some.