Kids In India Are Asking Heartbreaking COVID-19 Questions. Here's How To Answer Them

Source: NPR.org

Late April when India was near the topmost of its second coronavirus outbreak, the largest in the world. 
Mr. Banglani's younger son had developed a habit of tracking the pandemic. "It's very unnatural and worrying when a 6-year-old comes to you every day and says, 'show me the number of deaths today in the country,' " Banglani says.
His older son was showing signs of hypochondria. The 8-year-old was asking to have his temperature checked regularly, googling symptoms of COVID-19 and washing hands obsessively — 10 minutes at a time — Banglani says.
How do you soothe children when they're hearing about so many people dying? How do parents help them cope with anxiety when the parents are also anxious?
The first thing to do is normalize children's feelings and tell them it's OK to be anxious, says Singh Tanwar, adding that it's important to readdress children's energies away from the pandemic.
"Take out time to do some physical exercise together, take out time to maybe have some chats on a book you've read together," Singh Tanwar says. "Involve them in domestic work. Give them some duty."
It also helps to talk about other things, not just the pandemic, she says.

Also read: What’s Wrong With Indian Parenting?