Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress
CSTS | Department of Psychiatry | Uniformed Services University | 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814-4799 | www.CSTSonline.org

Finding the Right Words to Talk withChildren and Teens about Coronavirus
When talking to children
about Coronavirus (COVID-19),
it is important for parents to use
developmentally-appropriate
explanations tailored to the child’sage, verbal ability, and cognitive
understanding. Suggestions for talking
to children of different ages aboutcoronavirus are provided below.

Help children of all ages understandbasic information about whatthe coronavirus is and why it iscurrently such an important topic.

Explain What Coronavirus Is
Help children of all ages understand basic information
about what the coronavirus is and why it is currently suchan important topic. In addition, explain what coronavirus
is NOT. For example, children or certain groups of people
should not be blamed for it. Although it is serious, it is not
something to panic about.
Preschoolers“Coronavirus is a new germ. Germs can spread from one
person to another and make them sick.”“If Maria has the germ and coughs on Sebastian, thenSebastian could get the germ. Then, Sebastian could spreadthe germ to his family and friends by sneezing near them.”“Not everyone has the germ, so don’t be scared. People areworking on medicines to kill the germ, but this can take along time.”
School-age children“Coronavirus is a new germ that spreads from person-toperson like a cold. Most people just feel like they have a cold,
but some people have trouble breathing and get other serious
symptoms.”“Because coronavirus is caused by a new germ, scientists don’thave a medication to treat it yet but they are working on it.
This may take a long time — maybe several months or even ayear.”

Teenagers“Where did you hear about coronavirus?
What do you already know about it? Do
you have any questions?”“Coronavirus is a new virus, or one thathumans haven’t experienced yet. So, it isharder for some people to fight it off with
our immune systems.”“The precautions we are taking now, like staying away fromfriends or not going to parties, will help prevent the virus
from spreading. Even if you don’t get sick from the virus, it’s
possible that you could spread it to others in the community
or in our family, like grandma.”“Scientists are working on medications to treat coronavirus,
but it could take several months until they find one.”
Explain How We Protect Ourselves
Help children understand that proper hygiene (e.g.,thoroughly washing hands, coughing and sneezing into
elbows instead of hands, avoiding touching one’s face),maintaining a healthy diet, and good sleep habits are criticalto preventing the spread of coronavirus. In addition, it isimportant to explain the reason why we need to maintainphysical distance to avoid contagion.
Preschoolers“When we sing the alphabet song together while we wash ourhands, we make sure we wash long enough to get rid of anygerms.”“Let’s practice coughing into our elbow and waving at eachother so we don’t spread our germs to others.”
School-age children“We make it harder for the germ to spread by washing ourhands often, coughing into our elbows, and not touching otherpeople.”Continued

“We also need to wash our hands after touching things that
other people touch often, like door handles, elevator buttons,and grocery carts.”“To help stop the spread of the germ, we need to avoid close
contact with other people, including our friends and otherfamily members. This is why school is closed and youractivities are cancelled. We all have to do our part to help
keep the entire community safe and healthy.”
Teenagers“Coronavirus spreads more easily than other viruses, so weneed to wash our hands more frequently, especially aftercoming into contact with surfaces in public spaces, such as
door handles, elevator buttons, gas pumps, and ATMs.”“Now more than ever, everyone needs to cough into theirelbows and avoid physical contact with others; it is extremely
important to prevent the spread of the virus. We have to do
our part so that others who are at-risk do not get sick.”“Even though it is a pain, we have to stay physicallyseparated from friends for now. Are you able to connect withyour friends and classmates online?”

Explain How We Protect People Who are at Risk
Help children understand that certain populations areat high risk and we, as a community, need to take especiallygood care of them.
Preschoolers“Even though the germ won’t hurt you, it could hurt olderpeople like Grandma and Grandpa.”“The more we stay inside, the safer people like Grandma andGrandpa will be.”School-age children“This new germ does not usually make people your age very
sick, but it can be very dangerous for older people and people
who have other illnesses.”“The less physical contact we have with other people, the lesslikely older and sick people are to get the germ, and the safer
they will be.”Teenagers“Although coronavirus is less likely to make young people likeyou very sick, you can still spread the virus to others who are
more vulnerable to it and could get very sick or even die, suchas older adults and individuals with other illnesses that cause
them to have weakened immune systems.”“I know you want to hang out with your friends, but we needto stay indoors as much as possible. This will protect friends
and loved ones like your grandparents who are more likely to
get very sick from the virus.”

Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress
Department of Psychiatry
Uniformed Services University
4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814-4799
www.CSTSonline.org