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  Danielle Wood: Talking to Kids About Swine Flu...Without Scaring Them Silly
Reported by Huffington Post on Friday, 13 November 2009 (on November 13, 2009)
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These days, it seems like everyone\'s talking about swine flu. You can\'t pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV without seeing a story about it, but parents are still struggling with some pretty big questions-- whether or not they should give their kids the vaccine, whether or not they can give their kids the vaccine, what to do if their kids are out of school for long periods of time...
As they hear bits and pieces of these \'adult\' conversations and observe a growing number of empty desks, canceled field trips, and even school closings, there are a lot of anxious kids out there. Even in the face of their own unanswered questions, it\'s up to parents to give kids the information they need to stay calm, and hopefully healthy, in the face of the swine flu pandemic. The question is: how can you talk to your kids about swine flu without scaring them silly?
The good news is, you don\'t have to prepare a dissertation on the topic to soothe kids\' jangly nerves. In fact, simple is better. The basic message parents should convey, say the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) is this: We, along with your teachers, school administrators and others in our community, are doing everything to keep you from getting sick. And if you do get sick we know how to make you better.
Before you start a lecture on the topic, ask your kids to tell you what they already know about the swine flu, so you can find out which misconceptions you need to address. Here are some common misunderstandings that children have about swine flu, and how you can help dispel them:
Myth 1: \"Everyone is getting swine flu.\"
The truth: \"Kids who see news stories about Swine Flu on TV assume everyone has it and that they\'re going to get it,\" says Patti Harrison, Ph.D., president of the National Association of School Psychologists. In fact, the percentage of the population who are sick is actually very small. Harrison says parents should explain to their children that, \"some people have this, and we\'re trying to prevent you from getting it.\" Minimizing or eliminating television from your kids\' lives right now can help reduce their anxiety.
Myth 2: \"If I get swine flu, I\'ll die.\"
The truth: Though getting any flu is never fun, the majority of people who get swine flu feel as though they\'ve had a bad cold, then they get better. Empower your child with explanations about what flu symptoms feel like (fever, sore throat, and cough) so she can be on the lookout and reassure her that if she gets the flu you and her doctors can help her get better.
Myth 3: \"People can get swine flu from eating pork.\"
The truth: The virus travels through the coughs and sneezes of people infected with the virus. People may also become get swine flu by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouths or noses. Hand washing is the number one way to protect oneself from swine flu.
Myth 4: \"Psssst...did you hear who has swine flu?!\"
The truth: Unfortunately, when kids lack a thorough understanding about a topic it becomes easy fodder for gossip and rumor spreading. \"It was a big concern in the spring when the first reports were that the virus was coming out of Mexico. There was a lot of concern about excessive blaming and bullying towards an ethnic group,\" says Garcia, who reminds the public that this is \"an equal opportunity virus.\" It\'s important that children aren\'t allowed to gossip about who may or may not have swine flu or to make judgments about those who get it. Kids need to know that if someone has swine flu it doesn\'t mean they\'re dirty or that they\'ve done anything wrong. And once their doctor says it\'s ok for them to be back at school, kids who have swine flu are no longer contagious. Encourage your child to make a get-well card for classmates who are out sick with swine flu or anything else.
Myth 5: \"There\'s nothing I can do to avoid swine flu\"
The truth: It\'s important to empower your child. Make her feel like part of the solution by teaching her the tricks to preventing the spread of the virus. \"Children will be more resilient to crisis if they have something they can do to help,\" O\'Neill says. Reinforce these tips often with your child:
Wash your hands well by using plenty of soap and water, and scrubbing them long enough to sing the \"Happy Birthday\" song to yourself twice.
Don\'t have a tissue, but need to cough or sneeze? Do it in your elbow or shoulder.
Don\'t share drinks. The rule, coined by school nurse Mary Pappas (who discovered the first case of swine flu in New York) is: \"If it\'s wet and it\'s not yours, don\'t touch it.\"
If you don\'t feel well, stay home from school.
Give your overall health a boost, by eating lots of fruits and vegetables, drinking lots of water, and getting plenty of sleep.
If getting your child to follow these guidelines seems a challenge, just remember that promoting any type of behavior is a matter of good modeling. \"If kids see parents coughing into their shoulder or elbow, it will seem like the normal thing,\" Garcia says.
In the unfortunate event that your child does contract swine flu, Garcia recommends that parents treat it no differently than how you would treat the regular flu--responding in a common sense way, with lots of reassurances that the child will be okay. \"Refer to it as the flu with your child. There won\'t be a lot of testing to differentiate swine flu from seasonal flu because the treatment is the same. There will be standard precautions with all of them,\" she says, adding that any change in that protocol will be heavily publicized.
Ultimately, if you take a calm, yet prepared stance, your child will take your cue. \"Children are really competent and resilient little humans,\" Harrison says. \"If they are reassured and provided with the basic factual information, they trust the adults around them, and are reassured by them.\"
Links: Full news story
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