How to Speak to Your Young Child About Coronavirus
As adults, we strive for children to experience the world as a joyful and good place to be. We want them to feel a sense of trust that all is well and they are safe. How can we maintain this intention during times of crisis and high stress? When the future and safety within it is unknown, how do we hold ourselves in the presence of the young child?
Concepts such as virus, death, illness, and emergency will be overwhelming for the young child. It is likely that their anxiety will already be peaked with a change in their rhythm. Avoid lengthy explanations and media buzzwords. If your child specifically asks questions about the virus, use simple and imaginative language. You could recall with your child a time they were sick and then recovered, “Once, you had a cough and were sneezing. You stayed in bed, drank warm tea with honey, slept and had many sweet dreams, and then you felt all better. Sometimes we get sick and then we feel better.” Your children may see people wearing masks and gloves and wonder why. If they say, “Why are they wearing a mask?” I would reply, “You are right. They are wearing a mask.” Validate the identification without too many explanations.
The young child will experience this distance from school as a break, much like the summer time. If they ask about school, you could say, “School is sleeping. All of the children and teachers are having home days.” You can repeat the same explanation over and over again anytime that your child asks.
If you have older children, guide them in shielding their younger sibling from the stress of too much information. If your older children are informed of the current climate, offer them the role of being a protective older sibling. In the event that a lot of information has already been shared with your young child, it’s not too late to start shielding them now.
As we learn new information by the hour, the temptation is to share this information with others. Your young child needs not be a part of this audience. Refrain from watching, listening to, or sharing information from the media around your child. You are your child’s filter in this challenging time. Let any information they hear come from you as you intend for them to hear it.