Advice for Parents

Tips for talking to younger children about COVID-19

1. Deal with the news head-on and talk about it openly and calmly, giving them the facts

• Give them age-appropriate information – take a look at:
  • BBC Newsround hub – regularly updated with information and advice
  • #covibook – for under 7s
• Educate them about reliable sources of information and how some stories on social media may be based on rumours or inaccurate information
• Encourage them to take breaks from listening to or reading the news – overexposure isn't helpful

2. Encourage questions

• This will give them the confidence to reach out and ask, if they have anything to ask
• Use comforting tones and be honest when answering questions – it's ok if you don't have all the answers
• Allow for repetition – children tend to repeat themselves when they're feeling uncertain or worried, so you might have to answer the same questions more than once as they seek extra reassurance

3. Be a role model

• Recognise and manage your own worries first – hard I know!
• Be open about sharing this with pupils/children – e.g. I'm also finding the news a bit worrying, so I'm doing X which makes me feel calm

4. Let them know it's normal to be concerned

• If needed, reassure them that the effects of this virus on healthy young people are ( usually) very mild

5. Promote awareness of our body's immune system

• It's constantly working against germs without us knowing. We can't and don't need to control this process
• Explain that we're taking precautions against this particular germ because it's a new one which our bodies haven't come across before
• Remind them of the benefits of healthy eating, sleep and exercise – which help to fight germs

6. Be aware of children with higher levels of anxiety (e.g. those with existing phobias or obsessive-compulsive disorders)

• Get them to do activities such as counting, ordering and sorting tasks which can help with heightened levels of anxiety
• Encourage them to use relaxation techniques such as controlled breathing
• Detect any obsessive or compulsive behaviours early and intervene before they become entrenched patterns of thinking. Do this by challenging unhelpful thoughts and assumptions. Frame worries as situation-specific by relating them to the current situation, which is temporary and unusual
• Make a home-schooling timetable but be prepared to relax it!

7. Keep doing your bit to help children reduce the spread of germs

• Use the handwashing poster an sing a little song  to remind pupils how and when to wash their hands
• Encourage them to sing 'happy birthday' twice when they're washing their hands – slowly! My daughter and I did an experiment - it took her a whole 7 seconds to sing happy birthday twice and me 25 seconds!! So demonstrate – 20+ seconds