Below, you can find some tips and resources to help you with talking to your child about coronavirus.

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Via PBS:

1. Share age appropriate facts and corrected misinformation.

2. Reassure them that they are safe

3. Emphasize simple things your family can do to be “germ busters”

 

Here are four ways we can help young kids build germ-busting habits.

Wash Your Hands
Make it a family routine before every meal and snack to wash hands. If you do it together, you can model for them how to use soap, rub your hands together and rinse. For a timer, try slowly singing the ABCs together while you scrub.

Catch That Cough
When kids cough or sneeze, they tend to do it right into their hands — and then they use those hands to touch everything in sight! Instead, we can cough and sneeze into our elbow. Make it a game with kids. Can they catch the cough in their elbow? In the beginning, cheer when they do: “You caught it! That’s what germ busters do!” If they accidentally “catch it in their hands,” they can simply wash their hands with soap and water and start the game again.

“Rest is Best”
Tell them: When we are sick, we can stay home and rest our bodies; we can be germ busters by not spreading germs or going to school sick. And as parents, we can keep ourselves and our kids home if we have a fever or other symptoms.

Practice Healthy Habits
Remind kids that sleep, exercise and eating healthy foods are good, everyday ways to strengthen our bodies. We will all get sick sometimes! They have probably already had at least one cold this season. But we can be responsible germ busters when we practice handwashing, cough-catching, resting and basic healthy living.

To read more, click here to visit this PBS article by Deborah Farmer Kris.

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Via The Autism Educator:

Click here and show this PowerPoint presentation written Amanda McGuiness to your children to provide them with visuals while you explain the coronavirus to them.

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Via NPR:

Click here to view a comic just for kids about the coronavirus.

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Via NASP:

It is very important to remember that children look to adults for guidance on how to react to stressful events. If parents seem overly worried, children’s anxiety may rise. Parents should reassure children that health and school officials are working hard to ensure that people throughout the country stay healthy. However, children also need factual, age appropriate information about the potential seriousness of disease risk and concrete instruction about how to avoid infections and spread of disease. Teaching children positive preventive measures, talking with them about their fears, and giving them a sense of some control over their risk of infection can help reduce anxiety.

Click here to read some guidelines on how to talk to children about COVID-19.