Talking to Kids about the COVID-19 virus and the precautions

During this time, there are a lot of emotions and a lot of opinions on what is going on in the country as well as the world, leaving many of us unsure of what think, do, or feel. This post will be the first of several with strategies on how try and navigate this situation. I do not claim to be an expert in anyway, none of us have lived through anything like this before. However, I plan on using information I am finding through the CDC, established mental health researchers, and my own knowledge of trauma and general psychology when I write these posts.

This post is focused more on parents and caregivers with the goal to give some guidance on how to support children during the quarantine and includes helpful links to resources on this topic. I wish there was a manual of best practices on how to explain a pandemic to children, so please keep in mind we are all doing the best we can. Also keep in mind that it’s the responsibility of the adults to ensure children are able to feel safe and cared for during this time, while also ensuring children are taking the necessary precautions to prevent COVID-19 from spreading. We can only do that by taking care of ourselves and our emotions as well. Self-care is so important right now, on so many levels.

With anything, be it a mass shooting, a natural disaster, a death, etc. It’s always important to give your child space to ask questions and to express their feelings with full acceptance. Like I said, in order to do this, it’s very important parents and caregivers are taking care of themselves through this. Whatever that looks like. I’ll be writing another post soon with ideas on self-care. It is important and helpful to remember, you don’t have to have all the answers. It’s more important to be able to hold your child and sit with them in the unknown over having the “right” answers. Your child will feel safe knowing they can come to you for comfort more so than if you can tell them how long this will last. I will say it again, none of us have ever been through anything like this before and information is changing quickly and frequently. It’s ok to tell your child “I don’t know, but I’m here to keep you safe and we’ll get through this”.

A lot of the time we get anxious on how to explain things to our children because we fear we will not have the answer or they will ask a really complicated question that we do not know how to explain in a developmentally appropriate way. Most of the time, if you start by saying “What questions do you have?” kids usually have pretty simple questions. That’s not only the case and there may be some complicated questions asked depending on your child, but hopefully this post can give some guidance and ideas on how to answer questions and make space for your child’s emotions.

Many of my child clients (as well as many adults) have talked about feeling more anxious about what a quarantine means and if there will be enough resources for everyone (food, toiletries, etc.). Due to many of the movies that are out there, there is also a fear of society possibly crumbling and not trusting the government will take care of everyone. I bring this up so you can keep in mind that most of our kids will be more focused on that than the virus itself. These questions can be answered with comfort and letting children know the government is already working on ways to make sure people are taken care of and there are people helping each other. Now some of your children may ask for specifics. Use your discretion as a parent on what you share about what the government is doing and how you share it. Remember, the goal is to provide some comfort. I’d recommend sharing the stories of people singing to each other on their balconies, neighbors getting groceries for the elderly, schools serving food to low income families, and other stories like that.

Here’s an idea of how you can explain the quarantine to children- To protect people who can get really sick from it, like the elderly, people with breathing issues or other illnesses, and infants. We’re also staying home right now so we hopefully do not have to do it for a long time. We don’t know how long this will last, and that can feel really uncomfortable so I want you to know you can always talk to me about how you’re feeling or ask any questions (or something along these lines).

If you are needing to explain to children what COVID 19 is, PBS Kids has a link on how to talk to your kids about the Coronavirus: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/10-tips-for-talking-about-covid-19-with-your-kids

Essentially, it’s helpful to explain it in a way you would most colds and flu. That is, talking about germs and that we keep them from spreading by washing our hands, staying far away from other people (family is ok), cleaning surfaces, and trying not to touch our face or put things in our mouth. I’ve been explaining to children that COVID-19 or Coronavirus is a cold that a lot of people are getting right now, so that’s why we are staying home. I also explain the symptoms area fever, a cough, and having a hard catching your breath/being easily winded.

I’m hoping this first post is helpful! As I said, I will be posting more tips and strategies for adults to manage anxiety through this as well as more ideas for parents and caregivers to support their children.

Below are more helpful links to help explain this to your children and strategies to help them destress and manage their anxiety.

Feel free to comment with more ideas and resources for parents and caregivers to help children through this!

Take care and stay well!

Here’s a youtube with science experiment to help explain how washing our hands helps get rid of germs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djxmuDz8c3s

Here is another really good article from PBS on how to talk to your children about COVID-19:https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-coronavirus

Here are some coping strategies you can teach children for when they are feeling stressed or scared: https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/how-you-and-your-kids-can-de-stress-during-coronavirus

This link is good for any age and focuses on mindfulness and self-hypnosis to help when feeling stressed or scared: http://imaginaction.stanford.edu/?fbclid=IwAR059syA3-RY3Y8he1PtfrGiW0oIsv3LVDddOHgeZykXsQlC1R7mIohm2ac