Parents Need to Know About Managing Their Kids During Pandemic

Parents Need to Know About Managing Their Kids During Pandemic

The outbreak of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has created a lot of anxiety and uncertainty for all of us, including children. During stressful times, not matter what their age, children want to know basic things like Am I safe, How will this situation affect my daily life? As many of us find ourselves under orders to “stay-at-home” to help stem the coronavirus pandemic, kids to stay connected to their family, friends. Here are some simple steps that parents can take to make sure their children have a safe.

Control Your Own Anxiety

Many of us are worried about the current situation and living with uncertainty isn’t easy. Yet, anxiety is contagious. Your kids will know that you are nervous even if you try to hide it. So how can you keep you cool, despite your own worries?

Get the most credible information you can

Focus on fact-based, helpful information about the virus. Avoid endless social media streams, which can be filled with misinformation, and constant breaking news headlines, which can fuel your concerns. Stay up to date with notices from your child’s school, your state, and your city or town.

Anxiety is best contained if you know the guidelines for protecting you and your loved ones, including hand washing, cleaning surfaces, use of sanitizers, whether you or your family need to be in isolation, and what supplies you should have at home in case you are quarantined.

Take care of your physical health.

Get a good amount of sleep and exercise and use other ways to reduce anxiety, such as meditation, yoga, listening to music, or watching a TV show.

Approach Your Kids and Ask What They Know

Most children will have heard about COVID-19, particularly school-age kids and adolescents. They may have read things online, seen something on TV, or heard friends or teachers talk about the illness. Others may have overheard you talking about it. There is a lot of misinformation out there, so don’t assume that they know specifics about the situation or that the information they have is correct.

Validate Their Feelings and Concerns

Kids may have all sorts of reactions to the COVID-19. Some may be realistic, while others exaggerated. For example, if grandma is like a home doctor, they may have heard that older adults get sicker than healthier, younger individuals. You need to be able to acknowledge this valid concern, but can reassure them that grandma has the best medical care to manage the illness.

Empower Them by Modeling Behavior

An important part of prevention is hand washing, coughing or sneezing into your sleeves, wiping your nose with tissue then discarding it, trying to keep your hands away from your face, not shaking hands or making physical contact with others, and Wiping surfaces as a family, after eat, helps everyone feel part of the prevention effort.

When you ask your kids what they know about the virus, listen for anything that discriminates against a group of people, and address it in your conversation. And make sure not to reinforce negative stereotypes in your own actions and conversations.