Today, Public Health England (PHE) published “guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak”. We summarise their guidance below.
The guidance is to help adults with caring responsibilities to look after the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, including those with additional learning needs (ALN) during the coronavirus outbreak.
This is a difficult time for everyone, some people may react to this right away, while for others it may affect them later on. How children and young people react to this news can vary depending on their age, previous experiences, how they process and understand information and how they cope with stress.
So, during this time it’s important to take care of your family’s mental health – there is lots of support and resources available for you to.
Public Health England advises the importance of taking care of your own mental health and wellbeing if children and young people are in your care. This is because they can react to what they see from adults around them – so if you’re stressed, they’re more likely to be too.
You can see advice on how to look after your mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak or visit Every Mind Matters for further support.
Public Health England stated the following key points can help you support your child:
All children and young people are different, and their reactions will differ, however, there are some common ways in which the different ages may react to a situation like the current one we are facing:
Children and young people with learning disabilities may need extra words of reassurance and more explanations of the situation.
They would need more comfort and positive physical contact from loved ones – such as hugs.
For useful tips for talking about feelings, see Skills for Care advice. For further guidance on coronavirus (COVID19) for those with learning disabilities please see the Mencap website (includes easy read materials).
Autistic children may struggle to identify the physical symptoms for coronavirus. And may have difficulty talking and expressing their emotions, so it’s best to keep an eye out for changes in their behaviour as well as any physical symptoms.
For a comprehensive version of this article, please visit .gov.uk.
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