The Puzzle: Blog

People everywhere are adapting to the evolving changes in daily life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With school and other closures, parents and caregivers are faced with the challenge of helping their children adjust to the new normal. Teachers and schools are looking for ways to cope with the intersecting anxieties students and educators are facing. However in times of crisis, it can be difficult to identify and meet the emotional needs of children.

In this straightforward guide available as a PDF, child psychologist Emily McClatchey offers simple ways to engage children’s coping skills, helping to build resiliency that will serve them in this crisis and beyond. The guide explores some core tenets about what children need in times of crisis and how caregivers in any capacity —  teachers, school leaders, or parents — can support them.

“I have long been interested in helping kids cope with tough change, loss, and death, and I realized that the current pandemic packs all these potentially traumatic experiences into one big wallop for kids,” says Emily. “Luckily, kids are already largely equipped with many tools they need to help themselves navigate this challenge, if we can support them in the activation of their inherent strategies. The guide was borne not only from my clinical experience as a psychologist, but also as a breast cancer survivor and mom to three young children.”

Food insecurity is an exploding problem in this pandemic, so 100% of the proceeds from downloads of the e-book will go to Feeding America.

“The long-term economic fallout from this pandemic threatens food security for a heartbreaking number of families, so it made sense that by donating the proceeds, I could magnify the e-book’s impact on children’s well-being.”

Many parents and educators are wondering how to bring up the pandemic in a way that will be reassuring and not make children more worried than they already may be. Says Emily, “I hope parents and teachers will find support and reassurance within as we all learn to navigate this new normal. We are all in this together!”

Download the e-book here.

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