With everything that is happening due to Covid-19, explaining the pandemic to children is a pressing matter for many parents. It is difficult to explain to children why they can’t go to school or play with their friends and to show them why it’s so important to stay at home or indoors. This challenge involves being sensitive to the child’s wellbeing and not frightening or distressing them with the details of Covid-19.
With the online discussion of Covid-19 that has been occurring, it’s important that you provide a factual information source for your children whilst still being sensitive to their age. We’ve pulled together useful resources for explaining Covid-19 to your children.
Covid-19 Children’s Worksheets
Mindheart.co have put together a very helpful selection of worksheets that can be used to gauge your child’s understanding of Covid-19. You can work alongside your children with these age-appropriate explanations that break the information down. It’s an accessible exercise that you can do together. Above all, it keeps your child’s emotional wellbeing at its core. These are targetted at children up to 7 years old. Download the full set here .
Child Mind Institute’s Covid-19 guide for parents
The Child Mind Institute has put a video together outlining the best way to approach bringing up Covid-19 with your children. In addition, it explains how to respond to children’s questions. The video focuses on providing reassurance, guidance and routine.
NPR’s Comic for Exploring the Coronavirus
Podcast maestros NPR News have created a 3-minute podcast to explain Covid-19 to children. It also comes with a nice comic zine which has a guide to the pandemic and some helpful tips for staying safe. Definitely a nice resource to print and share with your kids. Listen to the podcast and download the comic here.
A Kids Book About Covid-19
Malia Jones, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin Madison, created a lovely book called A Kids Book About Covid-19 which breaks down the disease into bite-sized nuggets.
As a result, it’s direct, simple and very effective at answering questions a child may have. It is targeted towards children ages 5 to 9-years-old and is meant to be read with a parent. In addition, the e-book is available for free here.
For more updates on Covid-19, head over to our information hub.
