How to explain Covid-19 outbreak to kids: Fun videos, slides, e-books by Singaporeans

How do you explain the Covid-19 outbreak to your kids and teach them to protect themselves?

Non-profit inclusive arts movement Superhero Me has created simplified and easy-to-follow teaching video and slides for parents, educators and caregivers to use.

While it is aimed at helping children with special needs and low-functioning adults how to protect themselves from Covid-19, Young Parents finds the video endearing, entertaining and educational for all to watch and learn.

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To reach out to as many people as possible, there are three versions of the video with introductions in English, Chinese and Bahasa Melayu. The songs are sung in English with Chinese and Bahasa Melayu subtitles.

Watch all the versions and view the slides here.  These materials are produced with developmental paediatrician and epidemiologist Dr Lim Hong Huay, and infectious disease expert Dr Leong Hoe Nam.

Etonhouse shares free book, too

Available for all to download for free, the Etonhouse Community Fund has produced a book to explain what the coronavirus is all about: A New Virus Has Arrived. This is the charity arm for E-Bridge preschools and Etonhouse centres.

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This free bilingual book – in English and Chinese – aims to explain the contagious disease to children in a fun and meaningful way. While its pupils get a physical copy from the school, you can download the e-book here.

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The team has since come up with a sequel The Language of Kindness that pays tribute to the silent heroes who have gone above and beyond their call of duty in Singapore amidst the Covid-19 outbreak. Download it here and read with your kids.

Celebrity mum Joanne Peh creates her own, too

Joanne Peh has also come up with an English handbook to help preschoolers understand what is going on without causing too much fear.

The actress and mom-boss of filmic arts enrichment school The Dimple Loft said she found Mandarin resources for parents to help explain what the coronavirus was.

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“I made use of these resources to explain to my children why they were also off school when they came back,” shared Joanne, who was in Guangzhou to celebrate Chinese New Year with actor-husband Qi Yuwu and their two kids.

But when it came to searching for English resources on the Internet, she “wasn’t too successful”.

“Either too much information, too simplified or wasn’t updated,” she wrote in this week’s e-newsletter to her school’s subscribers.

And so she tapped into her creativity to produce an English handbook that her subscribers can print and download.

Cartoon Network releases music video

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The Powerpuff Girls, We Bare Bears, Teen Titans Go!, Adventure Time and Ben 10 have come together to help kids understand the importance of keeping healthy. Now, everybody, sing along:

Now here’s a few tips so you don’t get sick
We gotta fight the germs that make your nose drip
Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze
And that’ll put everyone at ease.
Now don’t touch your eyes, your mouth or your nose
‘Cuz that’s where all those naughty germs go
We must wash our hands before every meal
A 20-second scrub – yeah, that’s the deal
Same goes when you use the loo
Wash your hands and dry them too.
And if you’re feeling ill don’t go to school
Being safe and well is the No. 1 rule.
Be clean. Be cool.
Be safe. Be cool!

This music video will run on Cartoon Network (available on Singtel TV Ch 226 and Starhub TV Ch 316) and Boomerang, initially across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. It’s also available on Cartoon Network’s social channels and Youtube.

Young Parents speaks to the doctors

What precautions should you take against Covid-19 if you’re pregnant, or have babies and young kids? Young Parents has put together the expert tips from doctors here. Watch this video, too.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

This article was first published in Young Parents.