Talking with young children about big events: Lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic

What is it about?

We looked at how parents were talking to their preschoolers about the coronavirus pandemic in fall of 2020, a time when families were coming to terms with more than 6 months of COVID-19 changes and before vaccines were available. Most parents were talking with their young children about behaviors to prevent illness, like wearing masks and washing hands, and changes to their daily routines, like not going to preschool or playing with friends. Using explanations focused on COVID-19 as "dangerous" or "deadly" seemed to strengthen the relationship between parental stress and child distress. In contrast, using explanations that focus on "being safe" and "staying health" was related to less child emotional distress.

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Photo by Rusty Watson on Unsplash

Photo by Rusty Watson on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our study shows the importance of continuing to study how parents and children are talking about stressful events over time, especially in the context of challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic where changes to daily life last over months and years. We found almost all parents were having conversations with even young children about pandemic changes, and some word choices seemed to increase children's worry and fear more compared to others. This study highlights the need for more research about how parents talk to young children about big challenges that impact everyday life so that we can provide specific, developmentally sensitive guidance to families.