How families can cope with COVID-19:
- The National Child Traumatic Stress Network’s Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope With the Coronavirus Disease 2019
- Common Sense Media’s Help Your Family De-Stress During Coronavirus Uncertainty
- American Psychological Association’s Pandemic General Resources
How families can stay up-to-date with COVID-19 news:
How families can cope with social distancing:
How to talk to children about COVID-19:
- National Association of School Psychologists’ Talking to Children about COVID-19 (Coronavirus): A Parent Resource
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Talking With Children: Tips for Caregivers, Parents, and Teachers During Infectious Disease Outbreaks
- NPR’s Just for Kids: A Comic Exploring the New Coronavirus
How to keep children occupied at home– Play ideas:
- Melissa and Doug’s Free-Play Tips
- Browse your favorite museum’s virtual collections by using fun search terms for engaging content. For example, children can search for art with animals at the Art Institute of Chicago. The Detroit Institute of Arts and Henry Ford have digital collections as well.
- LA ist’s Kids Stuck At Home? Here’s How To Keep Them Busy And Grow Their Brains At The Same Time
How to keep children occupied at home– Co-view age-appropriate media as a family:
- Common Sense Media’s Sibling Watch-Together TV
- Common Sense Media’s Best Documentaries
- PBS’ How to Talk to Your Kids About Coronavirus (episode links provided at end of article)
Stuck at Home Resource List for parents of children in preschool and elementary school: (THANK YOU to Dr. Lucy McGoron @DrMcgoron for creating and vetting this list!)
- Michigan Science Center is giving science lessons each weekday at 2:30 (streaming through Facebook Live)
- The Cincinnati Zoo is presenting “Home Safari” each weekday at 3:00 (through Facebook Live)
- Mo Wiliams (author of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and many other books) has created YouTube videos to teach drawing (called “Lunch Doodles”)
- Through Facebook, the Toledo Zoo is presenting a different exhibit each day
- Scholastic is offering free online learning modules
- Skype a Scientist allows children to meet with real scientists and ask them questions
- “The Dad Lab” is a Facebook page with lots of fun science activities
- The “Story Pirates” will host a daily radio show with songs, jokes, etc.; Parents can also submit stories written by children.
- “Outschool” is featuring free drawing lessons for kids
- There are a lot of museums that are giving virtual tours. Here is a list of some.
- PBS Kids has a daily newsletter now with activities for kids
- Ranger Rick magazine is giving a free digital subscription
- Scholastic has lots of online resources
NEW RELEASES!
Check out Sesame Workshop’s Caring for Each Other initiative; they are providing support for families during the pandemic and many free resources: https://www.sesamestreet.org/caring
We have also learned about this exciting new initiative from Common Sense Media! It’s called Wide Open School and it provides free online resources for families of children from pre-K through high school.
Go here and click on “We’re a family” to get started. Make sure to choose the correct age range for each child because there are activities designed for children and teens.
Click here for an overview of how to use Wide Open School.
What’s great about Wide Open School is that it provides materials that can be completed offline and on mobile devices.
Additionally, this site provides activities and handouts in the areas of:
- Emotional well-being
- Arts and music
- Academics, including Science, Writing, Reading, and Mathematics
- Life skills, such as hand washing and shoe tying (for younger children) and digital citizenship and completing chores around the home (for older children
- Ideas for a daily schedule
- Virtual field trips and live virtual events
- Physical activity and exercise
COVID-19 Resources for Families, Part 2
Stuck at Home Resource List for parents of children in preschool and elementary school: (THANK YOU to Dr. Lucy McGoron @DrMcgoron for creating and vetting this list!)
- Michigan Science Center is giving science lessons each weekday at 2:30 (streaming through Facebook Live)
- The Cincinnati Zoo is presenting “Home Safari” each weekday at 3:00 (through Facebook Live)
- Mo Wiliams (author of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and many other books) has created YouTube videos to teach drawing (called “Lunch Doodles”)
- Through Facebook, the Toledo Zoo is presenting a different exhibit each day
- Scholastic is offering free online learning modules
- Skype a Scientist allows children to meet with real scientists and ask them questions
- “The Dad Lab” is a Facebook page with lots of fun science activities
- The “Story Pirates” will host a daily radio show with songs, jokes, etc.; Parents can also submit stories written by children.
- “Outschool” is featuring free drawing lessons for kids
- There are a lot of museums that are giving virtual tours. Here is a list of some.
- PBS Kids has a daily newsletter now with activities for kids
- Ranger Rick magazine is giving a free digital subscription
- Scholastic has lots of online resources
NEW RELEASES!
Check out Sesame Workshop’s Caring for Each Other initiative; they are providing support for families during the pandemic and many free resources: https://www.sesamestreet.org/caring
We have also learned about this exciting new initiative from Common Sense Media! It’s called Wide Open School and it provides free online resources for families of children from pre-K through high school.
Go here and click on “We’re a family” to get started. Make sure to choose the correct age range for each child because there are activities designed for children and teens.
Click here for an overview of how to use Wide Open School.
What’s great about Wide Open School is that it provides materials that can be completed offline and on mobile devices.
Additionally, this site provides activities and handouts in the areas of:
- Emotional well-being
- Arts and music
- Academics, including Science, Writing, Reading, and Mathematics
- Life skills, such as hand washing and shoe tying (for younger children) and digital citizenship and completing chores around the home (for older children
- Ideas for a daily schedule
- Virtual field trips and live virtual events
- Physical activity and exercise
COVID-19 Resources for Families, Part 3
TRAILS
The TRAILS group at the University of Michigan has compiled a lot of great resources. I plan on using some of these resources for myself! Some of my favorites include the Self-Care during COVID-19 handout and Sticking to a Schedule handout. The Self-Care handout reviews strategies we all should follow to manage our well-being during this time. They also have a specific Self-Care handout for adolescents. The Sticking to a Schedule handout provides a nice example of how we can create a balanced day and provides a helpful activity bank (with links to activities). Clinicians and parents can collaboratively problem solve using this handout with adolescents who may need some added structure to their days.
APA and national PTA address children’s anxiety about COVID-19
The APA and PTA released this straightforward, user-friendly guidance around helping children who are experiencing anxiety related to COVID-19. Some helpful tips include keeping a routine (so helpful!) and managing screen time. One additional tip, which we’ve highlighted before, is to reduce exposure to news coverage. This is especially important if you have younger (school-age) children and if your child is anxious or tends to worry. Provide facts about the pandemic, but do not have ongoing news coverage of COVID-19 for hours each day.
Advice for caregivers of children with disabilities
APA provides another set of tips, specific to parents and caregivers of children with disabilities. Tips for communicating with your child and his/her care team, providing reassurance to your child, and cultivating self-care for parents/caregivers are provided.
We will continue to provide resources as they are compiled to help you and your loved ones during this pandemic.