In Bethnal Green, London, twins Aqil and Fawaz were just eight weeks old when the pandemic hit.
Their mother, Fahmeda Ahmed, lived in a second-floor flat with her husband and their two older children - Hasan, four, and two-year-old Khaijah. "It was just the same day over and over again," she said. "We couldn't go out, we couldn’t socialise, we couldn’t invite friends over and we couldn't go anywhere with the kids.
"“I was so scared going into the hospital because you would hear stories that you would catch [Covid]," Fahmeda said.
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She attempted to homeschool her four-year-old, who had just started reception, but he completely stopped talking. And then there was baby Aqil. He was having difficulty swallowing and Fahmeda tried for months to get a face-to-face appointment with a doctor. Eventually, at three months, he was diagnosed with tracheomalacia, a condition where the walls of a child’s windpipe collapse. He needed a minor operation.
"And I remember when Aqil was going into theatre, I was so upset. There was a nurse there and she said ‘I'm so sorry. I can't hug you’."
Four years on, Aqil and Fawaz are healthy young boys, about to start reception at Elizabeth Selby Infants' School in Bethnal Green. But they both have speech and language needs. Their two-year child development check was delayed, they weren't able to attend any baby classes and their first year involved very little interaction with the outside world. Fahmeda believes all these factors have had a lasting effect, and experts agree.
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