Talking to Younger Children about Coronavirus
Understanding what is going on at the moment yourself can be overwhelming. Younger children are also in distress from not going to school, the park and doing family things outside of the house that you usually would be doing. Making sure that you know how to talk to your younger children about what is going on is important to reassure them and help them destress.
The News
While some things on the news you do not want your children to know, it is important that you do not shield them completely from what it going on. Some of the information may distress them, like the death rates and scarier aspects of the virus. However, there are some important factors from the news that is important to make them aware of.
Preventing the virus
Teaching your child how to prevent themselves from getting the virus is important so they know that they can do to help reassure themselves. Make sure your children are aware that washing their hands every 2 hours is important so they can prevent the virus spreading.
Children tend to touch their faces a lot more, whether is it ticking their nose, putting their hands in their mouth or rubbing their eyes. Telling your children that these things can be bad for their body is good so they can be aware of it.
Talking to your Children
Children have lots of thoughts that sometimes they can find it more difficult to share. Finding out how your children are feeling by talking to them. Make sure that after they have shared their feelings you reassure them that it is okay to be scared and that soon they will be able to do all the things they did before once again!
Are your Children asking you Questions?
If your children are asking you questions, try and answer them. You do not have to always know the answers but making the effort to answer their questions will help to reassure them.
The Virus
If your children are worried abut getting ill from the virus reassure them that it is unlikely that they will get seriously ill and if they do feel ill that you will be there for them to take care of them.
Family Members
Children may have worries about family members getting the virus and becoming ill. If they do have worries about this then make sure you talk to them about it and let them know of all the support that the family has so they do not need to worry!
Making sure you have Daily Routines
Daily routines will not only make you feel more in control of the situation but it will help to make your child feel safer and give them some stability. Write down a plan of each day on a piece of paper and put it on the fridge so you know what you should be doing throughout the day. I would recommend having these on there:
- School Work
- Exercise
- Play/creative time
Activities
Activities are important to do with your children so they still get some time with you and it will also help reduce their anxiety. Baking, cooking, reading, painting or playing can all help to relieve them. You can also use this time to talk through their concerns and relax them by getting them off their chest.
Final Thoughts
There are lots of different resources, like YoungMinds, that you can use for your children when teaching them and thinking of ideas to entertain them. Make sure you check out the children’s page as it is filled with blog posts and resources that you can benefit from!