COVID-19 Resources to Get Through the Winter

As we head into winter and COVID-19 cases spike across the country, we wanted to share a few resources about supporting your and your family’s mental and emotional health during this time.

For more COVID-19 resources, check out these previous blogs on the flu season, mental and physical health, and families and schooling.

• Resources for Supporting Children’s Emotional Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic from Child Trends
  These recommendations and resources are provided by child trauma experts at Child Trends and the Child Trauma Training Center at the University of Massachusetts. It’s filled with ways to support and protect children’s emotional well-being as the coronavirus unfolds.

• Supporting Kids During the Coronavirus Crisis by Rae Jacobson
  The Child Mind Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders, has compiled a list of tips to help calm fears, manage stress, and keep the peace.

• Helping Children Cope with Emergencies from CDC
  The CDC provides a list of factors that influence the emotional impact on children in emergency situations, how to help children cope, and common reactions to distress.

• Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook from The Wellness Society
  Check out this free Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook which includes tools to help you manage COVID-19 anxiety, tolerate uncertainty, and improve the quality of social connections.

• Managing Life During Covid-19: Strategies For Parents, Caregivers, And Responders from Bright Horizons
  During this time of uncertainty, parents dip into their emotional reserves to care for children and extended family as they manage difficult realities. Bright Horizons has suggestions for maintaining emotional reserves.

• Helping Children Understand Emotions When Wearing Masks from The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations
  Here are tips for helping children identify emotions when your face, your most expressive feature, is covered by a mask. Use these strategies to let children know that behind the mask, a kind and warm expression is still there!

• How to Support Children (and Yourself) During the COVID-19 Outbreak from The Center on the Developing Child
  The coronavirus outbreak has changed many things about our daily lives. But even during this uncertain time, our children are still learning, growing, and developing. These simple activities can make a real difference for children’s mental health.

• How to Support Children’s Emotional, Educational Needs while Remote Learning by Beata Mostafavi
  Experts from Michigan Medicine C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital answer common questions about socialization, screen time, and managing nervousness and stress when re-entering face-to-face school and activities.

• COVID-19 Parental Resources Kit from CDC
  The CDC developed this kit to support parents and caregivers serving children and young people in recognizing their social, emotional, and mental health challenges and helping to ensure their well-being.

• Resources for Promoting Mental and Emotional Health from Cincinnati Children’s
  Cincinnati Children’s has compiled a list of resources to support and promote mental and emotional health including coping with stress and anxiety, changing thought patterns, and relaxation.

• Virtual Learning: 4 Ways to Support Your Child’s Social-Emotional Development from Banner Health
  Catherine Riley, M.D., a developmental-behavioral pediatric specialist at Diamond Children’s Multispecialty Services Clinic, and Jerimya Fox, a licensed professional counselor and a doctor of behavioral health at Banner Behavioral Health Hospital, provide advice on how to think outside of the box and engage your child to support in their social and emotional development.