Listening and responding to our children’s concerns

In this moving blog post, Marie Skelton (Head of Early Years), looks at how best to deal with children’s fears and concerns about COVID-19.

In the current climate, with all the talk about COVID-19 and who is going to be affected, it can be a very stressful time for parents, children and staff. At 1st Place, we are trying to instill a sense of calm in our settings. Everyone wants to come to nursery to be happy and to feel safe. We are encouraging our children to wash their hands and are listening out for any comments or anxieties that they may have. However, staff are not talking to each other about COVID-19 in front of them. As adults, it is easy not to realise when a child is listening to a conversation and the impact it has on them.

Just this weekend, my own grandchildren came to stay with me from outside London. My grandson commented on all the people wearing masks and asked, “Nanny, did you know that this new virus is not really hurting children like me?”. He then added, “But I am scared because it is killing grannies and I really do not want anything to happen to you or grandad”.

We sat down to talk about it and he told me that a lot of his friends at school were talking about it and laughing, but he was really scared that something would happen to me and his grandad. I explained to him that I was not very ‘old’, that I was healthy and that even if I did get it, it would be like a bad cold. I reassured him  that I was doing my very best to take care of myself and that he could help me by making sure that he was washing his hands before he eats, after a visit to the bathroom and when he returns home from school in the afternoon.

Through this, I provided reassurance, allayed his fears but also instilled a sense of community responsibility and an understanding of the part that he can play. Listening to our children and responding to them in a ‘keep calm and carry on’ manner will help all of us to deal with the anxieties that these days are bringing.