Talking with children about COVID-19

Posted: 8/31/2020

Children may worry about themselves, their family, and friends getting ill with COVID-19. Parents, family members, school staff, and other trusted adults can play an important role in helping children make sense of what they hear in a way that is honest, true, and minimizes anxiety or fear. To help you have conversations with your children about COVID-19, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided the following recommendations:

• Remain calm. Remember that children will react to both what you say and how you say it.
• Make yourself available to talk. Answer questions and share facts about COVID-19 in a way that your child can understand.
• Provide information that is truthful and appropriate for the age and developmental level of the child. Talk to children about how some stories on COVID-19 on the Internet and social media may be based on rumors and inaccurate information. Children may misinterpret what they hear and can be frightened about something they do not understand.

• Remind your child that they are safe. Let them know it is okay if they feel upset. Share with them how you deal with your stress so that they can learn from you how to manage stress.
• Limit the amount of time your family spends watching or reading the news, including social media. Children may misunderstand what they hear and can be frightened about something they do not understand.

For more information on talking to your children about COVID-19, visit: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html