Ways to Help Children in Dealing with Stress during the COVID-19 Outbreak

Children around the world become vulnerable to risks posed by the current COVID-19 outbreak. Besides possibly contracting the virus, children may likely be affected by other harmful factors such as disrupted education, loss of income for parents due to the enhanced community quarantine, and other negative triggers to their emotional, social, and physical well-being which can result to great amount of stress for young people especially the school-aged kids.

“Children are not exempted to the effects of this pandemic especially those who are directly affected and currently living in the most vulnerable and poor conditions,” says Rommel V. Fuerte, National Director of World Vision Philippines, a child-focused NGO. “As long as there is an avenue for us to help these children, we will not stop in ensuring that they are safe and healthy,” added Fuerte.

Although there have been low cases of COVID-19 among children based on latest reports, we could not be complacent as children still become extremely vulnerable to the cascading impacts of this emergency.

In light of the glaring need to safeguard children from the lingering threat of COVID-19, World Vision suggests eleven (11) ways to help children cope with stress.

1. Help children find positive ways to express disturbing feelings.
2. Encourage a caring environment around them.
3. Make opportunities for children to play and relax.
4. Keep them close to their parents and family.
5. Ensure regular and frequent contact (via phone and video calls) and reassurance.
6. Keep regular routines and schedules or help them create new ones.
7. Educate them about the situation and give clear child friendly information.
8. Demonstrate to children how they can keep themselves safe. Social distancing and sanitation practices like proper handwashing protects them from not only COVID-19, but also numerous diseases.
9. Avoid spreading rumors and fake news.
10. Support activities for children during home isolation/ quarantine.
11. Manage your own emotions well and stay calm.

Meanwhile, World Vision calls the public, to pitch their part cooperating with the preventive measures and guidelines enforced by the Philippine government and supporting the collective health emergency efforts against COVID-19.

With the growing number of cases nationwide, the number of health facilities and health workers in the country may not adequately accommodate the overwhelming number of patients admitted, thus the need for augmentation of facilities and proper protection equipment among the medical front liners, especially in the public hospitals.

To help address this challenge, World Vision commits to support at least 100 health facilities with basic health facility disinfectant kits and provide medical front liners, including barangay health emergency response teams with personal protective equipment.

World Vision also looks into providing families with sanitation kits that include bath soaps, alcohol, face masks, toothpaste and toothbrushes.

To know more on how to support frontliners, and the families not fully capable of protecting themselves from the COVID-19 outbreak, visit World Vision’s donation page at https://wvph.co/covid19.

World Vision also calls on everyone to pray. Together, we can pray for wisdom, peace of mind, resilience and hope as we face this outbreak as one nation, one humanity.