Coronavirus: How to help kids cope with life without school

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Children across the UK will be off school for an indefinite period of time because of coronavirus. Some are likely to be anxious, so how can parents help them cope?

No school for the "foreseeable" future. Exams off. Clubs closed.

Millions of children will be looking forward to a spring, and possibly a summer, free of responsibility and routine. But these are not normal times - they're likely to have to spend days and nights indoors with parents or guardians.

They won't get much personal contact with friends and, for teenagers, the cancellation of exams will make a difficult time of year even more worrying.

"It's the perfect storm for parents and children," says Sam Cartwright-Hatton, professor of clinical child psychology at the University of Sussex.

"It's not just the fact that they're going to be cooped up together. Emotions are also going to be super-stressed because - on top of what young people are feeling - parents are worried about jobs, food supplies, paying the next mortgage bill."

Consistent routine

As households begin this forced experiment in enclosed living, Prof Cartwright-Hatton advocates setting a clear routine, particularly for younger children - such as a couple of hours of school work in the morning or a specified time for craft work in the afternoon.

She argues that pre-teenage children "turn inwards quite quickly" if they spend too much time alone.

Parents should play with them and encourage those of an adventurous nature to regard the situation as an "adventure". This approach won't work for the more sensitive children who will need extra reassurance.

Prof Cartwright-Hatton recommends keeping classmates and members of clubs like Brownies, football teams and music groups in touch via Skype, FaceTime, Zoom or other video-conferencing services. This would allow them to share details of their day and play games.

"I would worry about a child who had no-one to play with for six months. We're going to have to get creative in keeping children connected to their peer groups. Kerplunk won't work on Skype, but Cluedo or Monopoly might."

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Limit the doom and gloom

It's impossible to shield all but the youngest children from coronavirus talk, particularly with parents turning on TVs at 17:00 GMT for the latest government briefing.

But Prof Cartwright-Hatton suggests not exposing under-10s to any news at all, except in tailored forms such as the BBC's Newsround, which consults experts on its likely psychological impact.

Teenagers are better equipped to make their own judgements, but they should not be left in their rooms for hours on end searching the internet or using social media unsupervised, she warns.