Some people with young children at home have found it more difficult to use the ideas in this website, and they asked us for more information.

If you, or they, have coronavirus, or are at risk of being very ill with it, then trying to follow some of them will help. Remember – you might not be able to avoid all virus, but you can lower the amount.

Young children will find it hard to understand what coronavirus is and may be upset or scared by it. One way to try and avoid this is to make the things that you do fun.

Is there a room or an area of a room that you can make just for your child? If they have their own bedroom this would be easiest. Otherwise you could:

  • Make an area their special castle or den and encourage them to spend as much time in it as possible
  • Decorate it with sheets and put their toys in it
  • Put in a little table or tray where they can eat
  • Set up their bed so they can camp out in it

When you choose an area for them think about the following things:

Can you limit the number of people that go in that area/room? Try to find somewhere that doesn’t have to be shared with anyone else in your home.

Can you have a chair in there for you that is 2 metres/6 feet away from the child’s area? That way you can spend some time with them while keeping a safe distance. You could think of guessing games to play together that don’t involve contact.

Does the room have a window? Having the window open will help, but of course it needs to be safe so that there is no risk of children climbing out.

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