5 Ways to Help Kids with Coronavirus Related Anxiety

My article originally appeared on FamilyEducation, an excellent resource for parents.

Adults aren’t the only ones facing anxiety and mental health issues thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Kids are facing more challenges than ever before as they learn to cope with distance learning, scary news, and a nearly constant feeling of missing friends and activities. 

It can be especially difficult to feel that we are doing our best with parenting during this challenging time, as we are all facing our own anxieties and mental health challenges. Fortunately, there are some strategies we can use to help our children deal with COVID-19 related anxieties.

Here are five ways that parents can help kids cope with their anxieties related to this time of coronavirus:

Finding the good

Children may be overwhelmed by hearing about death and sickness and all that they can no longer do. To combat this pervasive sense of negativity, it can be helpful for both children and parents to be on the lookout for good news to share with each other on a daily basis. This can be a perfect regular topic for dinner time as a family. 

While you might be able to easily check good news sources such as Good News Network,, it can take some practice for children to discover good news on their own. You might help them look to nature for examples such as spotting a different kind of bird or seeing a new tree or plant bloom. Maybe they finished reading a book they have been working on or they learned to draw a new kind of animal. As you all learn to look for the positive and share good news with each other, it will help everyone stay more positive and find little things to look forward to.

Establishing routine

So much has changed in the routines of both parents and children everywhere. When we lose our sense of routine and familiarity, we can all often feel untethered and anxious. This is especially true for kids who need the comfort of routines and predictable transitions. 

Setting up a clear schedule on a white board or as a list taped to your refrigerator can be helpful to many kids. It is especially helpful if they can help you plan the schedule for the next day or week as a way for them to preview what is coming up. This doesn’t mean that you need to overschedule your family, but having certain markers throughout the day of when things tend to happen can be helpful. Choosing at least one special task or activity to add to the schedule each day also gives everyone something to look forward to. These activities can range from baking cookies to doing a scavenger hunt to watching a family movie.

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Limiting media consumption

Right now, we are all probably staring at screens more than we ever have in our lives. There is no need to pass judgment on this as we are all doing our best to get through an unprecedented time. That said, it’s especially hard to keep news updates, sad stories, and hard to watch videos from flashing across our screens. 

This is an important time to be talking with kids about navigating the digital world and digital citizenship safely and with more awareness. Even if your child is at an age that you deem appropriate for taking in most kinds of news, the gravity of much of what is being reported these days can be too much for anyone to handle. You might consider looking into the parental controls that are available on both your TVs and technology devices.

To continue reading this article on FamilyEducation and to learn 2 more ways to help kids with anxiety, click here.

Are your kids struggling with anxiety? How do you help them? Please let us know in the comments below!