Tips for Talking to Kids about COVID-19

During this time, it is understandable for children to have questions or express concern about the COVID-19 virus.  As parents, teachers or caregivers, it is important to stay informed and communicate in age-appropriate ways that address children’s questions and helps them take steps to keep themselves and others healthy.

Here are some tips and resources to help:

• Don’t be afraid to talk about it: Convey the facts and set an emotionally reassuring tone.
• Be age-appropriate: Teens can process and handle a higher level of detail than five year olds. Focus on answering your child/student’s questions. Do your best to answer honestly and clearly; it’s okay if you can’t answer everything.
• Follow their lead: Invite your child or student to ask questions and share their perspective: Invite them to tell you anything they may have heard about the coronavirus and express how they feel.
• Check yourself: Feeling anxious?  Take some time to calm down before trying to have a conversation or answer your child’s questions.
• Focus on actions you can take: Emphasize safety precautions everyone can take to help keep themselves and others healthy: good hand hygiene, cough and sneeze etiquette, social distancing and staying home if you aren’t feeling well.
• Stick to routine: Structured days with regular mealtimes and bedtimes are an essential part of keeping kids happy and healthy.
• Keep talking: Tell kids/students you will keep them updated as you learn more.  Let them know the lines of communication are going to be open and as you learn more, you will share the information with them, too.

Useful Link & Video Resources:

• BCCDC Frequently Asked Questions on COVID-19 for Children and Students
• BCCDC COVID 19: Recommendations for Students, Parents and Guardians
• Ways to Manage Stress and Anxiety and Help our Kids
• BC Children’s Hospital – Talking to Kids About COVID-19
• Talking to your Anxious Child about COVID-19
• KIDS and COVID-19 QA Video
• CBC Kids along with the PHO produced a kid-centric Q&A video about COVID-19
• Kids Help Phone: COVID-19

Foundry BC is now offering virtual drop-in counselling sessions by voice, video and chat to BC’s young people ages 12-24 and their caregivers!  Foundry is working to make sure all young people in British Columbia can get the care and support they need, when they need it.

Foundry’s virtual service offerings will expand over the weeks and months ahead to include peer support and primary care.

Foundrybc.ca is powered by BC Children’s Hospital.  Foundry is a province wide initiative supported by the Government of British Columbia, Graham Boeckh Foundation, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Providence Health Care and St. Paul’s Foundation.

 Foundry Virtual services are:
– Available to young people in British Columbia ages 12-24 and their care-givers
– Free and confidential
– Easy to access; no referral or assessment required

  To access this service, call 1-833-FØUNDRY
(yes, that’s FØUNDRY with a zero! or 1-833-308-6379)
to book an appointment!

A staff member will schedule an appointment and provide information for next steps.  Each virtual drop-in counselling appointment is a single session service and will last between 15-45 minutes. Young people are welcome to use the service more than once, but we cannot guarantee they will see the same clinician every time.

For more details, access the following link to view the Foundry Virtual Poster Provincial.

Visit foundrybc.ca/virtual for up-to-date hours of operation and service details.

Email online@foundrybc.ca with any questions about Foundry’s virtual services.