Wash, wash, wash your hands!

1. Maximize love, Manage stress

Children can be particularly vulnerable to feelings of anxiety, stress and sadness during such a crisis, which makes it important that the adults in their lives provide a safe, reliable space to discuss these feelings in.

The tools you can use to talk to children about coronavirus are very similar to how you would talk to them about any other development in their lives.

Listen to them

First understand how much your child knows about the pandemic. Acknowledge their concerns fully and honestly and tell them there are countless adults working hard to try to end this.

Maintain structure in their lives

Keep regular routines and schedules as much as possible, especially before they go to sleep, or help create new ones in a new environment.

2. Talk, sing and point

Make hygiene precautions fun

Most children are not fans of standing for 20 seconds while they wash their hands, but we know it has to be done, especially after going to the toilet, before and after eating, after coughing, sneezing, or blowing their nose and after coming home from a walk.

Try to make it fun, sing a few verses of a nursery rhyme or do a little dance with them to help them count down.

See Circle time with Teacher Maria about flue and washing hands.

3.  Read and discuss stories

Be honest with them

It is important to provide children with information, but as their caregiver, you need to balance truthfulness with what is appropriate for their age and developmental level.

Please see a story written for children to understand what’s happening in all of our lives, theirs too.

Click on the link to see and listen to the story.

I found it a good conversation starter. It’s reassuring for children to know that parents care about what they think or wonder about.

4.  Explore through movement and play

Avoid stigma, share kindness

Explain to children that the illness has nothing to do with what someone looks like or where they come from. Viruses can make anyone sick, regardless of race or ethnicity.

• You can also encourage them to reach out to grandparents and far-away aunts and uncles or Strongstart friends more often, using video chat applications.

( See Zoom circle time invite in your e-mail. If you haven’t receid it please e-mail me and I’ll be happy to send it to you.)

• If your child is a fan of arts and crafts projects, you can encourage them to make cards for people in the extended family or friends, that way they too can take part in spreading some kindness and love.  

• Science experiment for kids. Why do we need soap to wash our hands by Odin’s Play time

• Another little science lesson how to make bubble solution at home from Mad Science.

• You can also spread some joy by organizing a Bubble Party with your neighbours. Everyone can join in the fun from their own balcony.

5. Count, group and compare

• What sizes are your bubbles?

• What colour are the bubbles?

• How many bubbles?

• What can you create with circles and semicircles?