April 10, 2020

Talking about coronavirus with children and how to manage at-home learning

A UA behavioral health expert addresses parents' concerns during the outbreak.

Arizona 360 asked parents to share their concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic to learn the challenges it poses for some families at home. Among their responses, they wanted more information about how to discuss the outbreak with their children and how to juggle at-home learning and remote work responsibilities. University of Arizona behavioral health expert Tricia Haynes offered insight and discussed ways parents can manage the challenges the pandemic has placed on households.

“One of the key things with younger kids is to make sure we have definitions to terms that might not be entirely clear. My 8-year-old didn’t exactly understand what a virus was, so I had to sit down with her and explain how it’s a type of germ that’s invisible and it’s super small and we can’t see it but it can make us very sick,” Haynes said.

Haynes also led a team of UA faculty and staff at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health that developed a COVID-19 toolkit that pulls together resources for parents and teachers.

Arizona 360
Arizona 360 airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on PBS 6 and Saturdays at 8 p.m. on PBS 6 PLUS. See more from Arizona 360.
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