Did you all "educate" your little one(s) about the pandemic in some way?

[Ohlife2020]

We didn't. I honestly don't know if we shall or not.

DS (7yo) is a bit of light hearted on the surface on everything. But when things hit him, they would stir whole sorts of weird emotions underneath which may not be apparent to us until a later stage before we realise they have actually caused lots disturbance in his wellbeing.

So, until today, we have not had any formal chat or even remotely near a serious proper talk about the pandemic. He knows broadly what's going on. We do discuss about the situation fairly often in front of him. But he couldn't comprehend the true meaning of the horror out there. For the above reason, we didn't deliberately educate him about it.

Just wonder if we should and if most of the families have done so...

My DS is 4 so a lot younger and we have kept it fairly light and factual. ‘The government have asked everyone to stay at home and closed places because they don’t want people to get sick’ essentially. I’ve seen a few Facebook posts about similar ages children getting real anxiety about the virus and to be honest I’m sure that must be projecting whatever the parents are saying to or around them so we’ve tried to keep it as low key as possible without hiding anything if he asks questions

I have a tendency to “over science” with the kids so they know lots about the virus & understand lockdown etc but I haven’t talked about the numbers of deaths or the situation in care homes.

My 5 yr old utterly confused me today by saying “Covid is like tiny wizards” - she explained this was because both are destroyed by soapy water (we’re reading enchanted forest chronicles atm & the melting of wizards is heavily featured)

@PreggersPixie2020, Thanks. The school has recommended this book. It's a well written book with a balanced tune to present the pandemic. But I hesitate to use it as it's a bit long. His focus would be quickly gone before page 3...

@Sunshine1235, ours certainly heard everything we say, even the negative comments on the situation. But he never joined the conversation with any question. I'm a bit upset that he's light hearted in such an event which impacts so many people all over the world. But on the other hand, I don't want him feel scared too. So a bit dilemma.

@Gibbonsgibbonsgibbons, well, DS still needs to be urged to wash his hands every single time before meals. Even when he claimed he washed his hands, judging by the speed of it, you really want to question if he washed properly. And he claims he doesn't know how to sing "Happy Birthday"

Doesn’t know “happy birthday” is an impressively inventive reason for skipping hand washing he’ll go far!

I got lucky on the hand washing thing as I taught each of mine a rhyme for proper hand washing as toddlers - the older ones were astonished to learn that it was a real thing & not just a bat shit mummy thing

There's a good new Operation Ouch on BBC iplayer which would suit a 7 year old who likes things fast and funny. Explains coronavirus in a child-appropriate way.
Watch with him in case it leads to questions?

@Smallinthesmoke, BIG THANKS! He sat still for the entire 28 minutes except with one pause when he rushed to wash his hands after a sneeze! It's so brilliantly done and even eye-opening for adults to watch (the lab experiments in the show). Thank you so much!