Perseverance. Resilience. Flexibility. Who knew one year ago that we would be asked to model these traits to our children? Or that we would be asking our kids to display them weekly, daily, or hourly? If you struggle with helping your child cope with anxiety, trauma, or fear as we deal with the coronavirus, take a look at the following resources.
PBS Kids for Parents “Raising Kids Who Thrive”
PBS Kids has a surprising amount of information for parents online. The “Raising Kids Who Thrive” section is a collection of articles written by parents and experts that read easily as blog posts. Recent articles have included topics such as:
Child Trends Covid-19 Blogs and Publications
Child Trends is a nonprofit and nonpartisan research institute that focuses on factors affecting children and families. They have been conducting and publishing research for over 40 years. Don’t let the term “research” scare you into thinking you need a PhD to read their findings. They publish blogs and publications on their site that are highly readable and relatable. Two recent publications discuss children’s resiliency and emotional well-being. A recent blog post reminds readers of the plight of “COVID-19’s Forgotten Children,” including the 7 million with disabilities and others in unique situations.
The Healing Library Kits: COVID-19
Inside you will find a Discussion Guide, Activities Guide, Acts of Kindness, Book recommendations with discussion and observation prompts, and a list of Community Helpers. This combination offers your family a variety of ways to understand COVID-19 and move forward in a healthy way
The Healing Library COVID-19 Kit
The Healing Library is a collaboration between children’s librarians, social workers, a play therapist, and others. They have been lending information kits to help children and families in times of trauma, such as the death of a loved one or a pet since 2016. Their newest free download, COVID-19, is designed with the goal of helping heal communities.
NOTE: Families downloading the COVID-19 Kit should start exploring it at page 9. Earlier pages are intended for libraries.
AFIRM COVID-19 Toolkit
AFIRM stands for Autism Focused Intervention Resources & Modules
AFIRM is a series of resources and modules for individuals with autism. It is part of the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder, which was funded by the US Department of Education. Their COVID-19 Toolkit, “Supporting Individuals with Autism through Uncertain Times,” is specifically for caregivers of children and young adults with autism. While AFIRM is heavy on evidence-based learning, they present their COVID-19 Toolkit as a menu of strategies and ideas that can help caregivers support children and young adults with autism during this time. It is broken down into 7 strategies or tools and each come with free downloads and other resources.
Scholastic’s First Aid for Families
We believe that your family will form bonds through these shared activities that lead to greater resilience. And we hope that the emotional resources your children develop will serve them well in this time of crisis, and in months and years ahead.
Denise Daniels RN, MS
Karen Baicker
Executive Director Yale Child Study Center–Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience
The Yale Child Study Center & Scholastic Collaborative for Child and Family Resilience have created a workbook for families with child development expert Denise Daniels. The workbook is only 16 pages long, and only 12 of those pages contain content for kids; so it shouldn’t interfere with online or distance learning. It is for younger children and the author suggests an older sibling can benefit from it by helping a younger sibling complete the workbook. However, children an any age can benefit from certain activities, like taking one’s emotional temperature.
