Tips on How to Communicate with Children During COVID-19 Pandemic

Date: 05/28/20

During this unprecedented time, caregivers may feel unprepared to address the fears and concerns their children have about their health and safety. Beyond this, parents may not know how much information, if any, to convey to their children and how to encourage an open and safe atmosphere to ask questions. To help you foster an open dialogue, the researchers at the Centene Center for Health Transformation, research partner of the health experts at Envolve, have outlined behavior-based tips to initiate the conversation so your children feel comfortable looking to you for guidance.

  • Set the tone and remain calm. Your child will be looking to you as a gauge for how they should react and feel. Remaining calm will go a long way toward setting a supportive and comforting environment.
  • Be available and accessible. Over a puzzle, game, or dinnertime, check in with your child, and check in often. Don’t feel you always have to initiate the conversation, but by setting time aside with your child, you open up the opportunity for them to communicate their concerns and questions.
  • Avoid questions that can be answered by a yes/no response, such as “Do you want to talk about anything that’s bothering you?” Instead, you might ask them how they are doing with the transition to online learning, how their friends are doing, or how they feel about the changes they have experienced.
  • Acknowledge that things are different. Your child’s routine likely has changed in many ways. Make sure to support your child as they may miss their routine, school friends, community activities, or other aspects of their life prior to the pandemic. Saying “I understand, it’s hard to not be with your friends,” or “I get it, and I miss seeing grandma too,” can be affirming and comforting.
  • Provide factual information about the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a set of talking points that can be helpful for your discussions with your child. Tips include talking about what the coronavirus is, how it is transmitted, and how it is treated. You know your child best, so you may need to adjust what information you convey based on your child’s age and capacity to take in information.
  • Be aware when your child switches topics. This usually means they have reached their “limit” and is a signal to change the conversation. You can and should revisit at another time. Pushing them back on a topic they are clearly ready to move on from may discourage them from coming to you later.
  • Monitor other sources of information. Children may have access to other messaging through the television and online, which may be inaccurate or misleading and potentially heighten feelings of distress and anxiety. Limit outside influences, and be available should your child have questions about something they heard from a friend, the TV, or other sources.
  • It’s okay not to have all of the answers. There are likely questions you may not have the answer for. It is okay to tell your child that, and to use this time to provide hope. You could say “I’m not sure when you will be going back to school, but I know your teachers are just as eager to return,” or “I don’t know when the virus will “go away,” but there are lots of people who are working very hard to make that happen.” 

About Envolve, Inc.®

Envolve, Inc.® is a family of health solutions, working together to make healthcare simpler, more effective and more accessible for everyone. As an agent for change in healthcare, Envolve is committed to transforming the health of the community, one person at a time. Envolve unifies specialty pharmacyPBMvisiondental24/7 nurse advice servicesMSO solutions, and more. For more information, please visit our website www.envolvehealth.com or contact us at mediainquiries@envolvehealth.com.

About The Centene Center for Health Transformation

The Centene Center for Health Transformation™ is a community-corporate-academic healthcare partnership that advances life-centric health research to improve lives so that communities can thrive. For more information regarding the Centene Center for Health Transformation, visit https://www.centenecenter.wustl.edu.