Tagged With "COVID"
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A Guide to COVID-19 and Early Childhood Development [developingchild.harvard.edu]
By Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, April 15, 2020 The global response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has changed daily life in many ways for many people. Yet child development has not paused, and supporting children, families, and care providers of all kinds is as important as ever. In this guide, the Center on the Developing Child has gathered a number of resources and recommendations to help you through this challenging time. This guide pulls together...
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A State-by-State Look at Coronavirus in Prisons [themarshallproject.org]
By The Marshall Project, May 8, 2020 Since March, The Marshall Project has been tracking how many people are being sickened and killed by COVID-19 in prisons and how widely it has spread across the country and within each state. Here, we will regularly update these figures counting the number of people infected and killed nationwide and in each prison system until the crisis abates. Cases By May 6, at least 20,119 people in prison had tested positive for the illness, a 39 percent increase...
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Efforts to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality Complicated by COVID-19 [chcf.org]
By Xenia Shih Bion, California Health Care Foundation, April 20, 2020 Latoyha Young had a birth plan. She was going to have the baby in Sacramento with community doula Joy Dean by her side. Dean was funded by the county’s Black Child Legacy Campaign , which works to reduce the disproportional number of Black infant and child deaths in Sacramento. But in mid-March, when Young went into labor just as Governor Gavin Newsom ordered Californians to stay at home to avoid spreading the novel...
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FREE COVID-19 RESOURCE: Fighting the Big Virus: Trinka, Sam, and Littletown Work Together
This story was developed in collaboration with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network to help young children and families talk about their experiences and feelings related to COVID-19 and the need to stay inside. In the story, the virus has spread to Littletown causing changes in everyone's lives. The story opens doors to conversations about family and community strengths, challenges and feelings related to COVID-19, ways grown-ups help children keep safe, and our gratitude for...
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'Haven't Hugged My Mom in a Month:' Kids of Health Care Workers Feel the Strain [kqed.org]
By Sasha Khokha , Asal Ehsanipour Apr 17 As front line health care workers dedicate long hours to caring for patients during the COVID-19 crisis, life has changed for their own families — especially their children. Some hospital workers are staying away from their families to protect their kids. Others are living in the same house and taking extra precautions to avoid passing along the virus. Many children of nurses and doctors are navigating the unpredictability of life without regular...
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Helping Families Stay Regulated during a Pandemic
As our communities struggle to do what is needed to keep people safe and families work to find a new a “normal” while caring for and educating children at home full time – it can be a lot to handle. Child psychologist and trauma expert, Dr. Bruce Perry offered 8 tips for helping children stay regulated in this recent article from Psychology Today . Dr. Perry was also a part of this video resource for parents, Staying sane while Parenting with Shelter-in-Place! For service providers who would...
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Helping Kids Find the Wisdom in Overwhelm
In an unprecedented global shutdown, many of us, especially without the noise and distraction of everyday life, are facing intensified, often destabilizing feelings. And that includes kids—whether they’re able to say so or not.
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HOPE in the time of Coronavirus: Inequities and Supporting Children
Today's blog is reposted from https: positiveexperience.org/blog/ Link there for the hyperlinks, and for other in this series. Having safe, stable, and equitable environments to live, learn and play forms the second of the 4 Building Blocks of HOPE. Children need homes where they feel safe and secure and have their basic needs met. Children thrive in an environment that encourages curiosity and provides opportunities for learning to play and interact with other children. Today’s blog is...
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Trauma Informed Parenting during the COVID-19 Pandemic
If your child has a traumatic history, what can you do to help them cope during this very uncertain and chaotic time?
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What Does the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Mean for Families? [jamanetwork.com]
By Lindsey Thompson and Sonja A. Rasmussen, JAMA Pediatrics, March 13, 2020 A new viral illness called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was discovered in China in December 2019. Lessons learned from China and similar viral diseases can help families prepare for spread in the US. How children in the US will be affected is still mostly unknown. So far, proportionately fewer children have gotten sick in China, and the effects on them have mostly been mild. It is important for families to...
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When Hidden Grief Gets Triggered During COVID-19 Confinement
first published by The Meadows 4/15/20 Our sense of loss during the current COVID-19 crisis can trigger hidden emotions from when we experienced a sense of loss before. Whatever early losses you have had in your life — whether they be your own divorce, your parents, or both, or the abandonment of one parent, a childhood or parental illness or death, financial upheaval, constant moving around, or growing up with parental addiction or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — they are likely to...
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Sheltering in Place: ACEs-Informed Tips for Self-Care During a Pandemic
Millions of lives have been affected in unprecedented ways by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We are all grappling with uncertainty—our daily routines interrupted, not knowing what is to come. For those of us who have Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), these times can be particularly distressing. At the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW), we know that childhood trauma can have a significant impact on an individual’s health and well-being – both physiologically and psychologically. Since the...
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Social Media May Foster Post-Traumatic Growth in Disasters [psychologytoday.com]
By Grant H. Brenner, Psychology Today, May 9, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic is a prolonged, global disaster of epic proportions, unlike anything most people have experienced in their lifetimes. Tolerating Ambiguity and Isolation Unlike many disasters, which have a predictable course (see Phases of Disaster, below), pandemics don't fit a clear mold, with no clear end date, high levels of uncertainty about whether there will be ongoing waves of reinfection, unclear paths toward normality, limited...
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Testing In California Still a Frustrating Patchwork Of Haves And Have-Nots [califroniahealthline.org]
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Angela Hart, and Rachel Bluth, California Healthline, May 4, 2020 Months into the spread of the coronavirus in the United States, widespread diagnostic testing still isn’t available, and California offers a sobering view of the dysfunction blocking the way. It’s hard to overstate how uneven the access to critical test kits remains in the nation’s largest state. Even as some Southern California counties are opening drive-thru sites to make testing available to any...
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Race/Related: COVID-19 and the Collapse of America's Welfare State [nytimes.com]
By Eduardo Porter, The New York Times, March 28, 2020 Cloistered in my Brooklyn quarantine, I’ve probably been wondering about some of the same things you have: How come the United States only has 2.4 intensive care beds per 1,000 people, about one-third the number in South Korea? Why is American unemployment insurance so stingy? And critically, how can it be that one in 10 people in the richest country in the history of the world must face the worst epidemic in 100 years without access to...
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Resources for Supporting Children's Emotional Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic [childtrends.org]
By Jessica Dym Bartlett, Jessica Griffin, Dana Thomson, Child Trends, March 19, 2020 The following guidance, recommendations, and resources are provided by child trauma experts at Child Trends and the Child Trauma Training Center at the University of Massachusetts. The Center is housed at the University of Massachusetts with Child Trends as the lead evaluating agency, with funding from SAMHSA and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and additional support from HRSA. While the Centers...
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Love in the time of Coronavirus: HOPE-informed thoughts for parents
This has been quite a week, and we are now facing major disruptions in our own family lives. There is no doubt that the events of this winter and spring will be memorable for children. In that spirit, here are a few ideas to help make those memories (at least somewhat) happy.
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How to Shelter in Place if You Live With Domestic Abuse [kqed.org]
By Michelle Wiley and Shannon Lin, KQED, March 24, 2020 Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted a shelter-in-place order across California. The order, which limits the kinds of businesses and activities that are allowed, is meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and encourages people to stay inside their homes as much as possible. But what do you do when home is a dangerous place? For many survivors of domestic violence in California, sheltering in place can feel strangely familiar. Many...
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How to Talk with Kids About COVID-19 [healthier.stanfordchildrens.org]
By Erin Digitale, Stanford Children's Health, March 10, 2020 As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread, experts at Stanford Children’s Health have advice about how families can prepare their children for the continued news coverage and conversations around the outbreak. Parents and caregivers should communicate in an age-appropriate way that addresses children’s questions without stoking anxiety, says Stanford Children’s Health psychiatrist Victor Carrion, MD , who also directs...
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How You and Your Kids Can De-Stress During Coronavirus [pbs.org]
By Deborah Farmer Kris, Public Broadcasting Service, March 13, 2020 A few weeks ago, my eight-year-old daughter made a glitter jar for my students: “Tell them that when their brain has a glitter storm, they can shake this up and take deep breaths as the glitter falls.” We could all use some help settling our glitter right now. If you are feeling stress about the COVID-19 pandemic, your brain isn’t misfiring. Stress is a normal, healthy biological response to perceived threats and challenges.
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I See You: Practicing Community Centered Gratitude
Join me LIVE Tuesday, March 24, Noon (New York Time). No need to register. I will be Live on Grandfamily Today Facebook page. Let’s start a movement of Community Centered Gratitude and promote healing during this difficult time.
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Intermountain Video Podcast: How Kids Navigate a Pandemic
Meegan Bryce, MSW, began her work at Intermountain with children and families as a Direct Care Counselor in 2004. She has since been a Cottage Supervisor, Child and Family Therapist, the Residential Manager and now serves as the Residential Director. Meegan is a Montana native and enjoys all the outdoor activities that Montana has to offer, especially river rafting. In this video podcast, she speaks with Development Officer Tyler Zimmer about how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the...
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Where can I find emergency financial resources to help with COVID-19 hardships? [grantspace.org]
From Grantspace, Candid, March 2020 With an increase in hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have started this list to point you to emergency financial resources. NOTE: this is not a comprehensive list; we are simply adding resources as we become aware of them. *Funds in development (i.e., not yet giving funds out) are marked with an asterisk (*) Have a fund for this list? Email it to grantspace@candid.org. [ Please click here for more resources .]
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Now is the Time to Be, not Do (interpersonalinsights.blog)
With Covid 19 keeping most of us at home, now's the time to let our lives catch up to us and envision a new future.
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Paid leave for parents during COVID-19 Emergency
For employed parents trying to work from home (if your kids are usually in cc or school): there is paid leave now available - The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, part of the COVID-19 Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Here's an explanation from the Proskauer law firm (Twitter: @proskauer ): Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Paid leave for parents during the emergency
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Paid leave for parents during COVID-19 Emergency
Paid leave for parents during COVID-19 emergency
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Parenting, COVID and Teens: The Hassle
It all started for me about two weeks ago. Even though I heard about Coronavirus here and there, it was just a distant conversation happening on the background for me. Until one day, I got home from work, and my husband said we had to start stocking up for the crisis . "Crisis? Which crisis?", I asked. "The outbreak! It is serious. My company is preparing us to work from home for at least four weeks". "Get out of here," I thought. He is known for being anxious and controlling, so I scratched...
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Addressing Health Care Shortages and Needs During COVID-19 [citiesspeak.org]
By NLC Staff, National League of Cities, March 30, 2020 City leaders play an essential role in helping residents navigate to the safest and best possible health services to meet ongoing needs. They do this through: collaborating regionally, with partner organizations, state and federal officials, and local businesses; providing resources; and communicating clearly to residents, especially to vulnerable groups. Swift, efficient, and timely action from city officials can alleviate stress and...
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"Drive Thru Preschool"
During this time of social distancing and the legitimate scare of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to develop a sense of "normalcy" for our little ones (keiki). We can do this by keeping them on a schedule, making sure that we are listening to their concerns and meet their unmet needs. Due to COVID-19 preschools in Hawai'i have shut its doors to instruction, however this preschool has continued to operate by meeting the needs of the homeless and at-risk homeless families they serve.
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Beyond the Buzzwords: What Does Trauma-Informed Care Truly Mean? [madinamerica.com]
By Rachel Levy, Mad in America, May 20, 2020 On March 4, 2020, Rethinking Psychiatry (in Portland, Oregon) met for our monthly meeting. The topic was “Beyond the Buzzwords: What Does Trauma-informed Care Really Mean?” This subject turned out to be even more relevant, as we are now facing a global pandemic that is causing massive trauma. This was to be our last in-person meeting for the foreseeable future. We are continuing to meet online. Both our April and May meetings were held via Zoom...
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Shelter-In-Place Ignites Trauma From Past Abusive Partners [psychologytoday.com]
By Carol A. Lambert, Psychology Today, May 12, 2020 In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, May as “Mental Health Awareness Month, is a great reminder to pay attention —perhaps, more than ever—to our mental health. Along with the deadly threat to our physical health, the coronavirus has brought unimaginable changes and losses. In times of natural disasters, of which this pandemic is one, the psychological impact of stress , anxiety, and trauma responses are inevitable. Given the impact of...
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Parenting in a Pandemic, Op-ed
As a pediatrician and mom of four, I have been following the growing area of research in pediatric mental health over the last few years, including the study of adverse childhood experiences. Given the current information overload, I wanted to share the single biggest way we can help kids through this time without causing long-term consequences. Think for a minute about a boxer’s glove. The function of the glove is to provide padding for the hand. It is a shock absorber. When a hand with a...
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The Brain Architects Podcast: COVID-19 Special Edition "Domestic Violence and Shelter-In-Place" [developingchild.harvard.edu]
From Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, May 13, 2020 Shelter-in-place orders are meant to help protect our communities from the current coronavirus pandemic. But for some people, home isn’t always a safe place. For those who are experiencing domestic violence, or believe they know someone one who is, what options are available to stay both physically healthy and safe from violence? In this fourth episode of our COVID-19 series of The Brain Architects, host Sally Pfitzer...
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Oh, Good, the Kids Are Fighting Again [nytimes.com]
By Christina Caron, The New York Times, May 8, 2020 The wails. The screeching. One more conference call interrupted. After months of social distancing, children are as frustrated as their parents. “They’re fighting over who’s sitting in what chair,” said Ana Balich, a mother of three who lives in Chicago. “They always fought about stuff like that, but it just seems like its been worse.” In her household, like so many others, daily routines have been disrupted and her children are spending...
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Housing Assistance on COVID-19 Issues [changelabsolutions.org]
By Change Lab Solutions, June 23, 2020 Access to safe, stable, and affordable housing is crucial for community health, and COVID-19 is amplifying its importance. Access to housing helps individuals practice social distancing and maintain adequate hygiene to prevent infection. Housing quality is equally important. Given that families are encouraged to stay home as much as possible during the pandemic, it is critical that individuals have housing that is free of lead, mold, and other harmful...
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Column: How parents can help a child with post-traumatic stress disorder [milforddailynews.com]
By Lauren Barry, The Milford Daily News, June 27, 2020 When most people think of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) they likely picture an adult who has been in combat, a serious accident or experienced violence. Children can also have PTSD either from experiencing trauma directly or witnessing it. Childhood trauma can be from a specific event like a car accident or dog bite, but it can also include witnessing domestic violence or enduring neglect or abuse. Children diagnosed with PTSD...
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Stolen Breaths [njem.org]
By Rachel R. Hardeman, Eduardo M. Medina, and Rhea W. Boyd, New England Journal of Medicine, June 10, 2020 In Minnesota, where black Americans account for 6% of the population but 14% of Covid-19 cases and 33% of Covid-19 deaths, George Floyd died at the hands of police. “Please — I can’t breathe.” He was a black man detained on suspicion of forgery, an alleged offense that was never litigated or even charged, but for which he received an extrajudicial death sentence. “Please — I can’t...
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Intergenerational programs can help out-of-school-kids [edsource.org]
By Trent Stamp, Ed Source, July 29, 2020 With just weeks before the fall semester begins, school districts are grappling with reopening decisions as Covid-19 cases rise across the country. It’s obviously a tough choice. We know that little can replace the hours of in-person instruction children should receive each day, and researchers and educators are so worried about these growing deficits that the term “covid slide” has supplanted the “summer slide.” But intergenerational programs can...
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Richmond area students talk about what they'll remember from this year of protest and Covid-19 [edsource.org]
By Valerie Echeverria, Ronishlla Maharaj, Karina Mascorro, and David Sanchez, Ed Source, July 28, 2020 Black Lives Matter and the coronavirus have etched deep memories, as well as life lessons, this year for Richmond area students. Here are reflections from students and recent graduates, based on interviews conducted by participants in the West Contra Costa Student Reporting Project. Except for graduates, their class levels indicate their status in the upcoming school year. Irene Kou, 15,...
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As schools reopen, addressing COVID-19-related trauma and mental health issues will take more than mental health services [childtrends.org]
By Brandon Stratford, Child Trends, July 28, 2020 Regardless of whether students return to school in person or via distance learning , education leaders and policymakers across the country must equip schools to address the social, emotional, and behavioral effects of the ongoing pandemic. To address these issues, many policymakers are turning to school-based mental health services as a key strategy for supporting student wellness. Although mental health services are a critical, often...
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Reopening K-12 Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic [jamanetwork.com]
By Kenne A. Dibner, Heidi A. Schweingruber, Dimitri A. Christakis, JAMA Network, July 29, 2020 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to the nation’s kindergarten-grade 12 education system. 1 The rush to respond to the pandemic led to closures of school buildings across the country, with little time to ensure continuity of instruction or to create a framework for deciding when and how to reopen schools. States and school districts are now...
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Asking mental health to take a backseat during the coronavirus pandemic is a dangerous proposition
Understanding and limiting the spread of coronavirus has consumed our focus over the past few months. Physical distancing, child care and school closures, the persistence of masks, hand washing, have been essential steps to help protect each of us from the virus. However, this physical distancing has consequences that we need to talk about: isolation, loneliness, boredom, monotony, stress, anxiety, and fear. Mental health often takes a backseat when physical health is at risk. Health is both...
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Children will pay long-term stress-related costs of Covid-19 unless we follow the science [Stat News]
T he world is learning more about the uncommon but puzzling ways Covid-19 can show up in kids, keeping worried parents on the lookout for symptoms of the disease. We should also be concerned about how toxic stress brought on by the pandemic, or made worse by it, will affect children’s developing brains and bodies and their future health. In millions of households, kids are experiencing an incredible amount of stress and anxiety. They’ve lost the stability and safety of schools and day cares,...
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With less money and more risk, waves of child-care providers call it quits [latimes.com]
By Rikha Sharma Rani, Los Angeles Times, August 22, 2020 Kirsten Hove and her mom have been taking care of kids in San Francisco for decades. Hove’s mother opened a day-care program in her home in the city’s Marina neighborhood more than 30 years ago. In 2006, Hove and a family friend expanded the business by opening sites in their apartments nearby. The days were long, but the women loved the work. What took years to build, however, was dismantled by the coronavirus in just a few months. [...
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Day Care, Grandparent, Pod Or Nanny? How To Manage The Risks Of Pandemic Child Care [npr.org]
By Katherine Harmon Courage, National Public Radio, August 21, 2020 Pre-pandemic, about half of U.S. families reported having trouble finding care for a young child. That number jumped to nearly two-thirds this spring as day cares closed and other caretakers, such as grandparents and nannies, were told to stay home. And with many schools operating remotely, in a hybrid model or abruptly changing course this fall, many more parents, including those with kids in elementary school and beyond ,...
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The Health Care System Has the Black Community in a Choke Hold [chcf.org]
By Vanessa Grubbs, California Health Care Foundation, August 4, 2020 It was the Black woman’s third trip to the emergency department because she was feeling short of breath. She was starting to panic. She knew the COVID-19 death toll was climbing and that it was far worse for Black people than white people , and yet the doctors told her to go home again. But this time she pleaded, “If you all don’t admit me to the hospital, I’m going to die. I can’t breathe.” This is the story told by Sheila...
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Early Child Care & COVID-19: The Science of Transmission, Safe Practices, Stress and Resilience [ucsf.edu]
From University of California, San Francisco, September 9, 2020 Please join UCSF's Early Success Clinic Collaborative for a panel discussion on "Early Child Care & COVID-19: The Science of Transmission, Safe Practices, Stress and Resilience" on Thursday, September 10th from 6:30-8:30 P.M. This conversation will be focused on translating the science around COVID-19 in preschool and early childhood ages to help inform considerations to keep children, teachers, and caregivers healthy. The...
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Trauma-responsive school thinks outside-the-box to engage students during pandemic
Before the pandemic, Sara Buckley, an 8 th grade science teacher at Park Middle School in Antioch, California, could handle students who were acting out during class. Understanding that trauma lies beneath disruptive behavior, she didn’t send kids to the principal for punishment. Instead, she’d talk with them to find out what was going on at home or outside of school—and then work out a plan for how to respond differently the next time they were triggered. They could visit the school’s...