14 May New Podcast explores how to support kids and families during COVID-19
A new podcast series by child and adolescent health experts from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute will explore how to support children, adolescents and families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first three episodes will discuss wellbeing concerns and a range of solutions across a range of age groups – 0–5 years, primary school students and secondary school students.
The podcast unravels the challenges parents are facing and provides expert advice to help children and adolescents learn, develop and thrive during this time. It will also address the white noise and acknowledge how it’s normal for parents and children to feel anxious during this time.
Given some of the limitations at present, such as playgrounds not being open, face to face parent groups not meeting and school closures, it offers advice on what parents and carers can do to support their children’s ongoing learning at home.
Details:
Episode one: will focus on the 0–5 age group with guests Professor Sharon Goldfeld, a paediatrician, MCRI Theme Director of Population Health, and Director of the Centre for Community Child Health and Professor Frank Oberklaid, a paediatrician and MCRI Co-Group Leader of Policy and Equity.
“We discuss the real challenges of parenting during this complex time, explore the valuable skills children learn
from play and how to facilitate learning, the signs of anxiety in young children and how to explain COVID-19 to
young children in a calming way,” Professor Goldfeld said.
“Young children don’t always understand everything that is going on but they can pick up when something
is not quite right.”
Episode two for primary school students, with guests Associate Professor Margie Danchin, a paediatrician and MCRI Group Leader of Infection and Immunity, and MCRI Dr Jon Quach will discuss the importance of routines and the challenges of working from home at the same time as children remotely learning.
“We will look at how to support children’s wellbeing and sense of safety, how routines and rituals help, give advice on how to thrive in isolation such as through exercise and creativity at home, and how much screen time is too much,” Associate Professor Danchin said.
Episode three for secondary school students, with guests Professor Susan Sawyer, MCRI Group Leader of Adolescent Health and Director of the Centre for Adolescent Health, and MCRI Dr Rohan Borschmann, a psychologist, will explore how to approach physical distancing discussions, signs of anxiety in teenagers, positive thinking exercises and how to check up on their children’s remote learning.
