![]() But you can also explain that you as a parent as well as your child’s school want to make sure that when kids do go back, “everybody can stay healthy.” In the meantime, you can help your child access whatever remote learning your district has set up, if you have the resources to do so. While some kids might be initially excited to get out of going to school, taking away school attendance means taking away something that’s a constant in their lives, Gurwitch said, and that can be distressing.ġ3 Great Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy at Homeįor school-aged kids asking when they can return to class, Gurwitch advises assuring them that you are always staying up to date on when they may be able to start school again. John Moore/Getty Images When can I go back to school? Principal Sherri Prendergast retrieves Google Chromebooks to hand out to parents of students in Stamford, Connecticut, on March 17, 2020. You can also make hand-washing fun, Gurwitch said, by having kids sing “Happy Birthday” twice or the ABC song, both of which take about 20 seconds, the time experts recommend you spend washing. You can say things like, “in our family, we always wash our hands because it helps us be healthy.” For them, you can simply frame hand-washing as part of a family routine, Weissbourd said. Toddlers and preschoolers, however, may be too young to understand much about coronavirus or how germs work. You can also say that it’s even more important than usual to wash our hands because coronavirus is spreading rapidly, and washing our hands is one of the best ways we know to help keep ourselves safe. For kids who are old enough to understand, “it’s okay to tell children that we wash our hands because sometimes germs get on our hands, and if germs get on our hands and we don’t get rid of them, they can make us sick,” Gurwitch told Vox. But this can be hard to explain to little kids who might rather be playing or getting right to snacktime. One of the most important things people can do to protect themselves and others during this pandemic is washing hands frequently. “Very few of us like being passive in the face of uncertainty and a lot of worry, and the extent we’re doing things that feel productive, we’re going to feel better,” Weissbourd said. You can also emphasize the things your family is doing to stay as healthy as possible, like washing hands or avoiding social gatherings, Gurwitch said. The risk Covid-19 poses for children, explained For example, parents can tell kids, “our doctors and our nurses are working really, really hard to make sure that everybody, if they do get sick, can get better again.” What you can say, Gurwitch advises, is that you are doing everything you know of to make sure everyone in the family stays as healthy as possible and that, “if we get sick, then we’re going to do everything we know how to do to make sure we get better again.” You can also point to people in the community who are helping keep others safe and healthy (an old Mister Rogers technique). And Robin Gurwitch, a psychologist and professor at Duke University School of Medicine, says it’s important not to minimize kids’ fears or tell them there’s no possibility they or their family will get sick, because unfortunately that’s not true. These are probably the scariest questions on a lot of kids’ minds right now. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Will I get sick? Will my parents get sick? What happens if we do? The Rhode Island family, like many others, is home all day due to the coronavirus pandemic. Vox spoke to experts about how parents can respond to kids’ questions in ways that help them feel supported and teach them to be part of a larger community - even during a time of social distancing.Ĭecilia Conway plays with the family cat, Darla, with her brother and stepfather in the background. And whatever their age, a lot of kids have questions right now, whether it’s about why they need to wash their hands so much, when they’ll be able to see friends and grandparents again, or what happens if someone they love gets sick. ![]() With younger ones, however, it might be better to project as much calm as possible. With older kids, Weissbourd said, it can be okay to acknowledge that it’s normal to feel some anxiety right now, and that you’re feeling it, too. “To the extent that you can, taking care of yourself is really important,” he said. Before talking to kids, especially young ones, parents need to take steps to handle their own anxiety, whether that means taking a walk (if that’s possible and safe in your area), doing yoga or meditation, or talking to a friend, said Richard Weissbourd, co-director of Harvard’s human development and psychology master’s program. However, there are steps parents can take to help kids navigate this crisis, too. ![]() Playgrounds, babysitters, grandparents: What’s safe for kids in the age of coronavirus? ![]()
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