Communicating About Coronavirus with Your Kids
As we are in uncertain times, it is important to be certain that the information you receive is accurate and the best for you and your family. You might have seen information from the CDC, which is good! The recommendations from the CDC are your best source for guidance on how to navigate during these extraordinary times.
What Does the CDC Recommend for Your Family?
The CDC has outlined steps to take to prepare your family during the COVID-19 outbreak. The general guidance remains the same as for everyone: stay home as much as possible, avoid contact with others, stay home if you are sick, and look for guidance that applies to your local community. The most important recommendation for families is to establish a plan for your household. This includes ways to communicate with other family members, maintain health and childcare, and how to work remotely from home.
You can find the full list of recommendations from the CDC here
Communicating with Your Kids About the Coronavirus
Bring Up the Subject
While it can sometimes seem like not sharing much information about this virus with your kids could be a good idea since it can seem scary, kids may worry more about the situation if they don’t know what is going on. The Child Mind Institute offers some great advice on how to talk to your child about the Coronavirus. Most likely your kids have already heard something about the virus or have seen a change, like at the grocery store. So they recommend talking to your child about things in a reassuring way to set the emotional tone and to dispel their worry. Your information can be more trusted and reassuring than what they might hear from a friend or on the news.
Answer Their Questions
Instead of presenting them with a slew of information, allow them to share with you the things they are curious about, scared about, or what they have already heard about COVID-19. You can take the opportunity to gauge their emotional reaction and find ways to reassure them of their fears. They may ask questions that you don’t have the answers to, but that is OK. The best idea here according to the Child Mind Institute is to avoid encouraging any frightening fantasies about what is going to happen.
Practice Mindfulness
You might be worried or frightened yourself, but when talking with your child about this virus, it is important to be mindful of your own emotions. It is a good idea to prepare yourself before talking to your child about things. If you are feeling anxious, worried, or upset, take the time to practice mindfulness and get to a place of calm before having the conversation.
Reassure Them of Safety
Many kids would jump to a conclusion and worry that they will catch this virus. When speaking about things together, make sure they are aware that this particular virus is much less common than the seasonal flu, and that children are mostly not affected by it in an extreme way. Rather than focus on themselves and whether they will catch it, you can refocus the conversation around the things you are doing to keep it from spreading - and by doing so, helping those who are more vulnerable. Reviewing all the recommendations from the CDC like proper handwashing and incorporating the things they can remember to do instead of things you can’t do.
Develop a Solid Home Routine
As things progress, staying home is at the top of the priority list to combat the spread of COVID-19. Developing a solid foundation for a home routine is necessary to keep everyone calm, happy, and engaged. Kids often will feel more worried or insecure if they don’t have stability in their day-to-day routine. Keeping up with the most normal parts of your routine like mealtimes and bedtime are very important.
There are some great resources out there for parents to start structuring their daily schedules with kids at home. Here we have a daily schedule for implementing rules to keep electronics at bay or to stay active:
Another keeps up a different focus each day on a calendar, with ideas to make things interesting or give everyone something to look forward to during the week:
You can read more about maintaining your home routine in our resource here
The most important thing is reassurance. While you navigate this tricky time, just remember to help your kids understand that you are there for them, to answer their questions and keep them updated on the things they need to know. If they feel like they can relax and trust that you are there for them, even if you don’t have all the answers!
If you are unsure about how to progress with your child’s treatment with a therapist, talk to the team at Tilton’s Therapy! View our COVID-19 Policy for the latest here.
Resources:
https://childmind.orgr/article/talking-to-kids-about-the-coronavirus/
