HOW TO TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT COVID-19

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pandemic is new territory for adults and kids alike.

To help you talk to your kids about COVID-19, Joseph Segeleon, MD, a critical care pediatrician at Sanford Children’s, answers some frequently asked questions on the topic.

What advice do you have for parents right now?

The role for parents right now is to be reassuring, to be a listening ear and to make sure children feel safe. Kids pick up on parental anxiety, anger and impatience. They know when we’re afraid. Control your anxiety by concentrating on what we know, keeping your family safe and how you can cope in a healthy manner. Kids look to us for reassurance that, yes, we’ll do everything we can to keep them safe.

How important is keeping an open dialogue with our kids?

It’s very important right now to be accessible to your kids, to be available for questions and to acknowledge that they may be anxious or fearful. Be reassuring, confident and comfortable when you address their concerns because they may have heard other things about what’s going on, particularly if they’re older children.

How do we talk to older children about COVID-19?

Be aware of where your child is getting their information and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get your information from the same sources. Not everything online is true, so it’s really important to stick with facts and science. For example, we know there wasn’t a person or group of people who caused this virus. Especially with older kids, they may have a lot of questions, and let’s face it, we have a lot of questions about this current situation too.

How do we approach the subject based on children’s ages?

It’s very important that we acknowledge the developmental difference between children. For a 5-year-old who knows about germs, explain it to them in the same way you would about how we get colds and runny noses. But for an adolescent, you can go into the details about where this virus came from and what we know about it. Compare and contrast it to something like the flu, which a lot of kids know about.

Children may be anxious, confused and afraid. How can we help?

We’ve all been thrown into this topsy-turvy world where a lot of adults are working from home and kids are doing school online. Sticking with a routine is vitally important. Kids look to parents to establish a routine, and so I would strongly advocate for bedtimes and three nutritious meals together a day.

How can we shift our thinking and look at the bright side?

It’s important to stay positive and kids pick up on that positive energy too. When it comes to this virus, there are some positives if we look for them. One is that on the whole, the younger population isn’t as significantly affected. That’s a positive that you can share with your child to help them worry less about their safety and yours. I also encourage you to find new ways of doing things together, like hosting virtual meetings with friends and loved ones.

How can we encourage good habits among kids?

This may be an opportunity to talk about the reasons behind our actions. Such as, the reason why we wash our hands is not only to keep us safe, but also to keep the people around us safe. The reason why we’re staying home, not playing on the playground — or not going to school to see our friends — is about more than just you and I. It’s about the opportunity to do something for the general good. I personally think that’s a positive message.

Amid a pandemic, we’re seeing a lot of creativity and, more importantly, kindness. You don’t have to look far to see people reaching out and helping others, and I encourage you to connect with those who might be lonely or isolated. There’s a lot of kindness in this world and it’s a nice time to celebrate that.

On January 23rd Fargo Elim experienced a devastating fire. Our Residents and Children were successfully relocated with the assistance of our phenomenal staff, local fire fighter, police force, ambulance & emergency management. We are so grateful to all the dedicated professionals that made the evacuation successful and we humbly thank all the neighbors, volunteers, nursing homes, and businesses that opened their hearts and their doors to our residents, children and staff. After serving seniors for over half a decade we intend on recovering and maintaining our presence in this amazing community; we hope for another 100 years!

Pioneer House is still open to serve you. Thankfully our Assisted Living remains undamaged, open and continues to serve the Fargo community today.

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