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 because of the enhanced community quarantine, and other negative triggers to their emotional, social, and physical well-being which can result to a great amount of stress for young people especially the school-aged kids.
Considering the glaring need to safeguard children from the lingering threat of COVID-19, World Vision suggests eleven ways to help children cope with stress.
Help children find positive ways to express disturbing feelings.
Encourage a caring environment around them.
Make opportunities for children to play and relax.
Keep them close to their parents and family.
Ensure regular and frequent contact (via phone and video calls) and reassurance.
Keep regular routines and schedules or help them create new ones.
Educate them about the situation and give clear child-friendly information.
Demonstrate to children how they can keep themselves safe. Social distancing and sanitation practices like proper hand-washing protects them from not only COVID-19 but also many diseases.
Avoid spreading rumors and fake news.
Support activities for children during home isolation/ quarantine.
Manage your own emotions well and stay calm.
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.
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.
About World Vision
World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, their families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Inspired by its Christian faith and values, it is dedicated to working with the world’s most vulnerable people. It serves and collaborates with all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.
