Contact Us
Visit The Character Effect website
The
Character
Effect
Visit The PCX website
PCX
App Coming Soon!

Beech Acres

Go to the home page
Facebook Linkedin Instagram

COVID-19

Photo of. young girl wearing a face mask with mermaids on it
COVID-19, Uncategorized

Help Your Children Become Comfortable Wearing Masks To Protect Themselves and Others

/

Wear A Mask To Protect Yourself and Others Among the most significant impacts the coronavirus pandemic has had on our culture has been the shift to wearing face masks to protect ourselves and those around us. While wearing a mask is not uncommon in other parts of the world, specifically in regions that have previously battled respiratory outbreaks such as SARS or MERS, the concept is relatively new for Americans. Recent surges in the number of cases and the latest science have The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urging all Americans to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As states look toward the start of a new school year, many, including Ohio are also imploring their residents to wear masks. The fact is wearing a face mask is a big change and can be inconvenient, uncomfortable, and a little scary, especially for kids. Consider how you feel about wearing a mask to the grocery store, the bank, or anywhere you’re going to be around others. Your child’s anxiety and confusion are likely much worse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are currently “advising the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.” Wearing a mask, along with social distancing, is important to mitigating your risk of being exposed to or spreading the virus. Your kids, like you, are probably ready to get out of the house, so before you head to the store, or out to exercise, or anywhere you are going to be around others, prepare your kids to wear their mask safely and to be ready to see others wearing masks. Pro tip: Model the behavior you are seeking to create. If wearing a mask is important to you, make sure you are wearing yours as well.  Prep Your Younger Kids Start by checking out photos of different types of masks. You may be wearing a mask you purchased online, a friend or family member made for you, or even one you made yourself, but it’s a good idea to familiarize your younger child with masks. Look up characters in movies like Batman, Spider-Gwen, or Darth Vader. Explain that they may see lots of different types of masks but explain to them that whatever the mask looks like the person is wearing it to protect themselves and you. Explain to them why you are wearing a mask. It is essential that they understand the risks of getting sick and how a mask may protect you and your family. This may be a good opportunity to discuss your family’s values of health, safety, and respect. After all, one of your main goals as a parent is to keep your children safe and healthy. Also remember that kids are great at overusing their strength of creativity to create their own stories that may be far scarier than reality.  Finally, have them try their mask on a favorite doll or stuffed animal before trying it on themselves. Make sure they are comfortable wearing their mask and keeping it on for the amount of time you will be out. This PDF from Affinity Consulting can help. Pro tip: Masks with their favorite characters, familiar design, or favorite colors can help your child feel more comfortable wearing their masks.  Make Sure Your Tweens, Pre-Teens, and Teenagers Are Safe Your older children probably have a better understanding of how viruses are transmitted and may know more about the severity of the current pandemic. They may also have more anxiety because of this. Start by having a conversation with them about the pandemic and make sure you are sharing as many easy to understand facts as you can. Answer their questions and offer reassurance where you can. Make sure they understand how to put on and remove their masks safely. Make sure they only touch the straps or ear hooks. If they touch their masks or are wearing a bandana or buff-type cover, make sure they wash their hands for 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer immediately afterward. Finally, if your teen leaves a trail of their possessions across the floor when they come home (their backpack, their shoes, their coat, their keys, their phone) they are probably going to toss their mask as soon as they walk in their door. Make sure they don’t leave their masks lying around. Either throw away disposable masks or wash cloth ones regularly. Pro tip: Keep your conversations brief and to the point while addressing any questions they may have. While this is important you want to make sure your child is not overwhelmed.  Getting Back To The New Normal Social distancing, caution, and masks are likely going to be part of our lives for a while as we learn more about COVID-19 and move toward decreasing the spread or finding a vaccine. As government restrictions, including stay-at-home orders, are lifted you may find your family getting “back to normal”. This may include going shopping, attending church, going out to eat, attending camp, or playing sports. This may put them in situations where they are wearing their masks for extended periods of time and where they are around others. Make sure they understand if they need a break from their masks, take a few GIANT steps away from everyone else, safely remove the mask using the straps or ear hooks, and take a break. Before they are near others, make sure they put their mask on correctly and wash their hands or use hand sanitizer. Wearing a mask in public can help mitigate the risk of spreading droplets that may contain the coronavirus or other infections. While it may be different and scary, it is an important and responsible way to protect your family and those you may encounter. Having open conversations with your children, answering their questions and addressing their fears, and making sure they are comfortable

Photo of a mother clapping as her daughter washes her hands
COVID-19, Parenting Tips

Talking To Your Kids About Coronavirus

/

Talking To Your Kids About Coronavirus Guest Blogger Kerry Brown, Parent Connext Parenting Specialist, Beech Acres Parenting Center Uncertain Times During these uncertain times, it might feel overwhelming to share information about COVID-19 with your children. As parents, we sometimes think we are protecting by not telling them about scary things; as if shielding them will protect them from the bad feelings or discomfort in this stressful time. In reality, our children pick up on far more than we give them credit for. This is why it is important to share information with them but in an age-appropriate manner. Clarify Facts for Your Kids Sharing facts about COVID-19 can be done in a non-threatening way and actually alleviate some misconceptions they may have created in their minds by not telling them. When children hear something they don’t understand, they tend to create a story that makes sense to them. For example, I worked with a 6-year-old patient in the hospital who had edema. When I assessed his understanding of why he was in the hospital, he thought he had a demon in his body. He had heard the word edema said by the medical staff and his parents, but he had no context for that word, so the word that he did have a context for was a demon. Sometimes a child’s interpretation can be far more terrifying than if we had just explained what was going on. Start The Conversation If you have not had a conversation with your child about coronavirus or COVID-19, start with asking what they have heard about why we are staying home, or if they’ve heard the words coronavirus or COVID-19. If so, ask what they know and if they are wondering about anything. If not, start by explaining that it is a disease or illness that can make people feel sick. Coronavirus is very contagious. Contagious means it can spread or be shared between people very easily when we cough or sneeze. For kids, the virus has mostly been mild or not really bad, but it can be harder for older people (like grandma or grandpa) or people who are already sick, so to help keep them healthy and safe, we are staying home to not share or spread germs.   Explain What You CAN Do There are things we can do and ways we can help, and one is by washing our hands a lot and sneeze or cough into our elbows. It’s also important to keep things clean, like doorknobs, faucets, tables, and counters. You can help at home by helping clean and keep your hands clean. You can also help by making cards for family members we aren’t able to see, or writing notes with chalk on the sidewalk to neighbors. We can also write thank you notes for doctors, nurses, grocery store staff, or anyone who still has to go to work to help us stay safe and healthy. Ask your child what they might want to do to help people feel better. Here are some links for great resources on talking with your children: Resources https://beechacres.org/beech-roots/ https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/28/809580453/just-for-kids-a-comic-exploring-the-new-coronavirus https://www.facebook.com/tellnowhitelies/videos/234834407639510/UzpfSTEyMDM5ODYxMTc6MTAyMjI3NjE2OTEzMjk5MTY/

COVID Action Plan BAPC graphic
Activities, COVID-19, Parenting Tips, Parents

COVID-19 Family Action Plan

/

Make a COVID-19 Family Action Plan During this unprecedented time of uncertainty during the coronavirus/COVID-19 public health crisis, you may find yourself at home with your kids with plenty of time on your hands. If this is your situation you still have work to do and they still have schoolwork to complete, so let’s make a plan. Download our family action plan and keep your family on track during the next few weeks. Be sure to bookmark our blog, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook for more daily activities. Family Schedule Keep your family on track during your time at home by building a daily schedule together. Use your strengths of teamwork and fairness to make sure everyone contributes and has time for their individual priorities. Family Intentions You may already have some house rules your family follows regularly. Take this opportunity to revisit those or create some based on your family values and your priorities during this time. Family Goals What would you like to get done over the next few weeks?

Photo of a mother turning on a sink faucet as her two children hold out their hands to wash them
Anxiety, COVID-19, Parenting Tips, Parents

Reassuring Your Children About The Coronavirus. Tips from Dr. Christopher Bolling

/

Reassuring Your Children About The Coronavirus. Tips from Dr. Christopher Bolling Reassuring your kids during times of uncertainty is very important for your family’s well-being. As news of the coronavirus and its related respiratory disease COVID-19 continues to spread, Beech Acres Parenting Center board member and Pediatrician at Pediatric Associates of Northern Kentucky, Dr. Christopher F. Bolling has some tips to help parents navigate this developing scenario with your children. Tips From a Pediatrician Today the coronavirus/COVID 19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), and the city of Cincinnati declared a state of emergency. This news and these terms can be scary. Remember though, “pandemic” is just a term that allows governments and other agencies to talk about the developing situation around the globe. It enables them to say, ‘this is something we need to deal with, together, as a planet’. They declare it a pandemic to mobilize people to understand that this is something we need to control. Control Measures Work There is good evidence that control measures work. What happens when you implement control measures is that you slow the spread of the virus and allow health care professionals to take care of the sick. The goal is not to overwhelm the health care system so they can adapt and take care of sick people. Control measures help the health care system cope with the situation more effectively. Talk To Your Kids As with any serious conversation, you need to have with your children, whether it be death, serious illness, or a term like ‘pandemic,’ let your kids lead the conversation. Answer their questions fully. Be responsive and sensitive to what they are asking you. They may have questions or concerns such as; ‘Is it dangerous?’ Tell them, yes, it can be scary, especially for older people, but for kids, it’s not as scary. ‘I’m worried about grandma getting sick.” Let them know there are things we can do to protect the people we care about, like washing our hands, staying away from others if we are sick, and checking in on them via FaceTime or Skype to make sure they are OK. Give your children concrete things they can do. Parse the information out in easy to digest pieces, so it’s easier for them to understand. Let them guide you. Pause the conversation if they shut down on you as too much information can be overwhelming. While COVID-19 appears to be the most severe for the elderly it is still very important to take precautions with your children . Kids’ resistance does, however, make control more difficult because they may be asymptomatic and able to transmit the illness without any outward signs of illness.  So, it is even more critical that they are following preventive measures like hand washing, social distancing, and staying home when they are sick. Stay Connected With Your Doctor, Practice Preventative Measures, and Stay Informed In the coming days and weeks, stay in close contact with your doctor’s office, and see what recommendations they may have. Visit their website, read any emails or other communications they share, and talk to their nurses. Things may be a little different than what you are used to at your doctor’s or pediatrician’s office, so pay close attention to how your practice is directing you. Every office will be different. Standard protections should continue in effect; again, hand washing, staying home when you’re sick, and limiting visits to the sick or elderly. During this time, you should pay special attention to any respiratory symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath. If you have those symptoms, please call your doctor. Finally, the most important thing is to pay attention to local authorities and medical professionals about exposure. If they say stay home, stay home. These decisions are based on information from public health experts in your community and have everyone’s best interests in mind. Practice good infection control measures and stay informed with facts. Christopher F. Bolling is a pediatrician at Pediatric Associates, P.S.C. and an active board member at Beech Acres Parenting Center.

Scroll to Top