Explain Physical Distancing to Your Young Child With This Video.
Explaining the coronavirus to our older children can be quite simple – we can answer their questions according to age, acknowledge their concerns, talk about what we are doing to stay healthy, and find ways to help others. But for our young kids, who can now be home from kindergarten or preschool indefinitely and skip their regular play dates with their toddler or preschooler friends, it’s a little more difficult.
The internet is usually full of suggestions and resources on how to talk to our young children about complex topics, but as Keith Schweitzer writes for PopSugar , this pandemic is our first.
As my young children began to learn more and more about the current coronavirus outbreak, I have struggled to explain this “new normal” to them without relying on the lenient guidance of a children’s book. There is no such hardcover story or pint-sized book. But a young writer named Kim St. Lawrence created the next best thing.
The video version of her St. Lawrence children’s fairy tale Time to Come Bear: A Childhood Story of Social Distancing is the cute explanation our young children need right now:
The story begins with the words: “It’s time to come in, Bear. The world has caught a cold. You won’t get its germs if you just stay at home. ” Then, in a soothing rhythmic rhythm, they explain all the fun things they can still do on the inside, why it’s so important to refrain from visiting grandparents, and that dating isn’t over forever.
“As long as we stay inside, Bear, the heroes are still fighting,” the story ends. “To get rid of germs and make the world a better place.”