COVID-19 Resources

The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide crisis unlike anything we have ever experienced. It is hard to know what to do during these unpredictable times. Collectively we are experiencing trauma, our anxiety and stress levels are high. Constant exposure to news and media sources can even make this worse. This persistent consumption of information can be overwhelming and sometimes it is hard to figure out what is accurate and helpful.

Our children are feeling overwhelmed and anxious too. They are picking up on how their adults are feeling through mirror neurons and are using social referencing to determine how they should feel. Sharing knowledge about regulation, mental health, and resilience is important now more than ever. I wanted to create this page, away from social media outlets, to act as a library that holds resources on supporting young children and families during this crisis.

These are some of the resources that I have shared with teachers, families, and find to be helpful and informative. Topics covered include stress, resilience building, mindfulness, screen time, and supporting families at home. Some of the resources are coronavirus specific while others are for trauma in general. I hope you find this to be helpful!

Click on the underlined text to open the resource in a new window.

Wearing Masks with Infants and Toddlers on my Blog

What is Coronavirus? How Does it Relate to Child Development? from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

COVIBOOK from Mindheart

This is a PDF file created to help young children understand the coronavirus and processing their feelings in a developmentally appropriate way. It is available in many different languages!

Talking with Young Children about COVID-19 from CHILD

These are some tips for answering questions children might have about the coronavirus. Many of these tips extend to other challenging situations as well.

Recommendations for Supporting and Protecting Children's Emotional Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic from Child Trends

Answering Your Young Child's Questions about Coronavirus from Zero To Three

How to Help Families and Staff Build Resilience During the COVID-19 Outbreak from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

5 ways Early Care and Education Providers Can Support Children’s Remote Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic from Child Trends

Balancing Online/Remote and In-Person Learning for Young Children

from the Agency & Young Children Research Collective

This PDF provides some helpful strategies for teachers trying to create meaningful online content and host video chat interactions with young children.

Screen Sense Guideline Resources from Zero to Three

The Three R's from Beacon UK; designed by Dr. Bruce Perry

Infants and Toddlers use social referencing to see how their trusted adults are feeling and use those observations to know how to feel and act in situations. Their mirror neurons are currently activated and are sensing all the tensions in the change of routines and uncertainty around us. A really valuable approach we use in the classroom is the 3 R’s. The first R for 0-3 is Co-Regulation. Young children cannot regulate alone as that part of their brains are not fully developed. As adults, we have to lend them our frontal lobe, which means we have to be regulated ourselves!