COVID-19 Resources - Dana's Kids

STOP! Before you read any further, take a DEEP BREATH! For many, this is a crazy, unfathomable, scary time. It’s okay if you’re still processing what is happening…all while caring for yourself, and your families, and countless other items. Here’s what I want you to remember: You can do this! This is finite. Every day won’t look pretty. Some days will be downright hard. But you’ll make it. 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week at a time. Don’t forget those deep breaths. Don’t forget the self-care. You can do this!

A Message for Young Children about COVID and Social Distancing

Many parents are struggling with how to talk to young children about COVID and social distancing, in a developmentally appropriate way. In this video I share a message, specifically for young children, about what is currently happening. I encourage you to watch this on your own before you share it with your children. Additionally, you’ll find a number of resources for talking to children who are school-aged, below.

“Hi friends, my name is Dana and I’m a teacher for children just like you. I wanted to talk to you a little bit about what you might be seeing and noticing around you right now. You know sometimes your head might hurt or you might get a bellyache and sometimes we can rest a little bit and we feel better. Other times we take some medicine or we need to go to the doctor. Right now, there are some people who aren’t feeling so good and they’re coughing and their heads hurt and what the doctors and helpers are telling us is that if we stay in our homes and with our grownups, we can really help those people who don’t feel so good. It’s also an important way for us to stay healthy.

Another thing that the doctors and helpers are telling us is really important is making sure we wash our hands super carefully. I’m going to share another video with you with a song that I like for remembering to get into all those nooks and crannies in your hands.

We won’t always have to stay close to home, but for right now, it’s the smart thing to do. Soon the helpers will let us know when it’s time to go and play and see our friends again. And really, when you think about it, staying home and being with your grown ups can be a lot of fun. I’m sure there’s all sorts of toys and games in your home that you haven’t had a chance to use with them in a long time. So now’s our chance to snuggle in and to play with our grownups and enjoy our time togethe.

Remember, if you have any questions, you can always ask your grownups and if you like, you can have them send your questions to me and I’m happy to try and help. I’m sending you big hugs. I know you’re going to have some great days. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye. “

A Hand Washing Song for Young Children

In this video, I share an easy song to help young children remember to wash eash part of their hand:

“Hi friends, yesterday I sent you an important message. If you didn’t watch that one yet, you can go do that now. During that video, I let you know that I was going to teach you a special song for remembering how to get into all those parts of your hands when you’re washing. Are you ready to hear it? Here we go. Tops and bottoms, tops and bottoms, in between, in between. Scrub them all around, scrub them around all around. Almost clean, almost clean. Tops and bottoms, tops and bottoms, in between, in between. Scrub them all around, scrub them all around. Now they’re clean. Now they’re clean.

So some friends like to use that song. Other friends will sing happy birthday two times. There’s lots of ways to do it, but we want to make sure that we get all the parts of our hands really nice and clean. If you have any questions, feel free to tell your parents to send them to me and maybe I’ll make a video and help try to answer them. I’ll see you all soon. Bye.”