THE FRED ROGERS CENTER

During uncertain times, it may be difficult to know what to do or to say to children. As Fred Rogers said, it is your being there that matters most. “Being there” may look different for each caregiver and child and it may look different each day. Here are some considerations as you care for yourself and children. Remember, you know yourself and the children in your life best. 

Trust Yourself: Fred Rogers believed that what children need is deep and simple – they need an adult who cares for them, accepts them wholly, and gives them space to wonder. During these times when everything may seem uncertain and ever changing, we can easily get swept up in trying to make every moment “perfect” or “normal.” It is important to remember that even brief, high-quality loving moments with children help to build their sense of trust in you and in themselves. 

Honor Solitude: Solitude is important for children and their helpers to understand their inner stories and the world around them. For young children, solitude might mean being near a loved one. Older children may seek aloneness in their room or in another part of the house. As an adult, you may also need some time to yourself and that is ok. 

Share Feelings: You and your children may have many feelings in response to the coronavirus. Fred Rogers reminds us that “Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.” Let your child know that their feelings are always safe with you, whether they are feeling worried, angry, sad, or anything at all. 

• Talk about Transition: This article shares some helpful ways to talk with children about the uncertainty and how to make space for the feelings. 

Connect with Others: Finding time to connect with others is so important, even if we cannot be together in person. Children can talk, sing, dance, and play with family and friends on the phone or with an online video tool. Caregivers can also reach out to others to check in, share resources, and encourage one another. Sometimes the world can look so big that it is hard to know where to start to connect with others. It is times like this when the words of Fred Rogers ring true: “The deep and simple is far more essential than the shallow and complex.” Even the simplest acts of kindness, compassion, and empathy are felt so deeply in times of uncertainty. 

• Learning and Thriving at Home: Early in the pandemic, the Harvard Graduate School of education has compiled resources about thriving at home and creating human connections. On this site, you can listen to Richard Weissburg, a senior lecturer at Harvard GSOE, talk about supporting one another in times of crisis. Click Here to listen.

• Reach Out: Thinking of creative ways to reach out and give to others may be another way to connect. Some families write cards to healthcare workers or grocery store employees. Others send messages to family and friends  that they cannot travel to see. You and your children can come up with ideas that you can do together.

• Education Now: This initiative from the Harvard Graduate School of Education is a response to the dramatic changes in the field of education in the wake of COVID-19. In April 2020, Dr. Dana Winters and Dr. Junlei Li joined the Education Now webinar series to discuss the power of having at least one caring person, the impact of simple moments, and the reminder that none of us need to be perfect to be helpful to the children around us. Full recording is available Here.

• The Fred Rogers Centers’ Dr. Dana Winters and colleagues at UNESCO, Dr. Mark Brennan and Dr. Pat Dolan, wrote a piece published May 2020 in USA Today. The authors draw on the message of Fred Rogers and remind us that no act of kindness, compassion, and empathy is too small to bring comfort and healing to those around us. Click Here to read.

Prioritize Health & Hygiene: Caring for yourself and your child also includes taking care of our bodies. Showing children how to wash their hands to protect their body from illness and talking about why you are wearing masks to protect others from illness are important lessons for children.  You are teaching children the skills to care for themselves and that every single person is valuable. Here are resources about talking to your children about health and hygiene related to coronavirus. 

• Empower Children: Help your child know that you and the adults in their life are protecting them, and that doctors and nurses and scientists are taking care of people who are sick and working to find ways to keep everyone safe. While children need to know it is not their job to stop or fix the virus, you can empower them to be a helper by washing their hands often and wearing a mask.

• Coronavirus Resources for Parents: This is an article written by PBS Kids about how to talk to children about coronavirus. You will find tips for handwashing, covering coughs, and practicing healthy habits.

• Zero to Three: This article from April 2020 offers ideas for thinking about self-care during the coronavirus pandemic.

• CDC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offer several resources for caregivers and educators. These include: Caring for Children, Checklists for Parents and Teachers, and Talking with Children.

Consider Mental Health: Mental health is important, especially during challenging times. We can do many things to keep our minds, bodies, and spirits healthy such as connecting with others, playing, spending time outdoors, and limiting our news consumption. Here are some other resources that may be useful for you and your children when considering mental health.

• Responding to Difficult Current Events: It can feel overwhelming to talk to a child about difficult things that are happening in the news. In this resource, we share suggestions for talking with a child about difficult current events, listening to a child’s feelings, and loving them during challenging times.

• Teletherapy: Many psychologists and counselors are now offering teletherapy and many insurances are covering these services in response to the coronavirus crisis. Counselors can walk you through options (e.g. telephone, computer, etc.) based on your personal preferences and access.

• Online Support Groups: Many support groups are continuing online and you can also create your own. Coming together to mediate, pray, or talk with others can provide a sense of connectedness. If you do not belong to such a community consider setting this up with loved ones.

• Coronavirus Mental Health Fact Sheets: National Child Traumatic Stress Network Fact Sheet, Mental Health and Coping During COVID-19
  

• Mental Health Hotlines: These are resources if you need to immediate speak with someone about mental health issues including suicide, mental illness, substance use, and disaster distress:  National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, NAMI National HelpLine Warmline Directory, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Disaster Distress Helpline.

• NYU Langone Health: This page is all original content from psychiatrists at New York University Langone Health, a premier academic medical center, about child mental health during this time. 

Fred Rogers believed that: “Play is the real work of childhood.” Play serves many purposes for children. Play can be just for the fun of it. Play can help children work out their feelings, rehearse events that may be difficult, or learn about the outside world. Play can also help children feel some control of their world and their inner self. Whatever form children’s play may take, it is an important way for them to learn and grow. This is especially the case when a child is able to lead their own play. Here are some ideas for thinking about play that is child-led. 

Dramatic Play: Dramatic play can be an important tool for dealing with problems big and small. This kind of play might include dressing up as a character or superhero, pretending to be in another world, acting out scenarios with puppets, or playing with an imaginary friend. Dramatic play might also be a tool for parents to learn what is in a child’s mind at the moment. 

The Arts: When children are encouraged to create their own unique forms of art, they can use this as a way to understand and cope with stress in their lives. 

• Lincoln Center at Home: The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York is hosting several online resources for families to enjoy and engage with the arts from home, including a Pop-up Classroom that features daily art projects for families to do together at home. 

• Visual Thinking Strategies: This site offers ideas for talking to children about their artwork using open-ended questions.

• Art for Kids Hub: This site offers videos for children to learn and practice drawing.

Making and Building: Children make decisions about what and how they make and build. These decisions can be an expression of their inner feelings and give a child control of what takes place. We may be tempted to rearrange a child’s structure or alter a child’s creation, but this could change a child’s play or design. Consider asking open-ended questions about a child’s creation and waiting for a child to ask for your help.

• Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh: This museum posts ideas for hands-on activities to try at home related to arts and making.

Active Play: Children can learn when they are on the move. Exercise is good for our bodies and brains. While being mindful of social distancing, we can still move around through play, taking walks, and exploring nature near the home. 

• Play Equity Coalition Family Resources: This document includes apps, videos, websites, google docs, Instagram posts, and twitter feeds curated mostly through schools and educators about remaining physically active during the coronavirus.

• KQED MindShift: This website offers websites and ideas for staying physically active through exercise.

For families with young children: Here is an article written by Zero to Three about activities related to play that you can do at home with young children.

Independent Play: Here is an article published in the New York Times about the benefits of children’s independent play.

There are many resources and websites with ideas about creating learning opportunities for children through digital media. Here are a few that we find useful. Remember, humans give meaning to technology and caregivers can help children integrate what they have learned online or on a device.

Wide Open School: This site offers online educational resources for families and educators of children in grades PreK through High School organized by content area.

Common Sense Media: Common Sense Media is a website that rates apps, games, and websites for developmental appropriateness. They offer media recommendations for entertainment, resources for at-home learning, and stress-management tips. In addition, they provide ideas for educators as they prepare to teach online. They have resources for families and educators during coronavirus at the links below.

• Family Resources from Common Sense Media
• Educator Resources from Common Sense Media

PBS Kids: PBS Kids is an educational and fun site that offers high-quality games, videos, and quests featuring popular PBS characters.

Education Development Center: The EDC designed and delivers programs related to health and education. Here is an article they published about using technology to support learning at home.

Harvard Graduate School of Education: This website offers articles related to learning online compiled by Harvard researchers and educators. 

WQED Education: This website includes a compilation of online learning resources. Sign up for emails to access a weekly planner including PBS KIDS shows and a corresponding educational activity. 

Reading Resources: The following websites offer books and read-alouds for free: Audible, Storyline, Reading is Fundamental, and The Spanish Experiment (including stories in Spanish) and Unite for Literacy.

Content-Area Resources

• National Geographic Kids: This site offers games, videos, and articles about science, history, and geography.
• But Why Podcast: In this podcast, children ask scientists and researchers about the world around them.
• Mystery Science: This site is offering their most popular science lessons for free.

Virtual Field Trips

• Zoos & Aquariums: The following zoos and aquariums offer webcams and learning resources about our animal friends: San Diego Zoo in CA, Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC, Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, AZ, and Monterey Bay Aquarium in CA. You can also find a number of animal webcams across the world.

• Art Museum Exhibits: The following art museums are offering online exhibits on their websites: The Louvre Museum and Musee d’Orsay in Paris, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the National Gallery in London, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence Italy. 

• World Travel and Outer Space: Here are a few other websites that allow children to view places around the world and beyond. These include: United States National Parks, Colonial Williamsburg, Canadian Farm Food 360, The Universe, and  The Surface of Mars

You may be wondering if there are ways to bring the message of Fred Rogers into your care of children. Here are some websites to get you started. 

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Archive: The Neighborhood Archive offers an overview of all Mister Rogers Neighborhood episodes by year and by topic. You can also search for particular content areas and find an episode related to an area of interest. 

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Episodes: Fred Rogers Productions, formerly Fred’s production company Family Communications, offers five episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for free each week. A new episode is added every two weeks! There are additional tools and resources all focused on the television program.

Fred Un-Boxed: A newly launched resource from the Fred Rogers Center, Fred Un-Boxed offers a glimpse into the Fred Rogers Archive, a collection of nearly 22,000 items from Fred’s life.

Fred Rogers Center Newsletter: Each month, the Fred Rogers Center publishes a newsletter focused on how we can continue learning from the legacy of Fred Rogers. Click here to read this month’s edition and subscribe to receive the newsletter in the future.

Fred Rogers Productions: Through the Fred Rogers Productions website, educators can access episodes and games related to popular shows, such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Peg+Cat.

Legacy of Fred Rogers: A virtual tour of an Exhibit from the Heinz History Center about Fred Rogers.

Educators’ Neighborhood: This is a group of educators learning from and with other educators about the life and work of Fred Rogers. The community studies episodes of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, reads from the Fred Rogers Center Archive, and generates new ideas together connected to daily practice with young children. Click Here to learn more about the community of practice and to read interviews with participants. .

With so many children in new learning situations, adults may be wondering about the kinds of learning and stimulation children need to continue to grow. In 1983, Fred Rogers and Barry Head considered this question. In Mister Rogers Talks with Parents, they introduced these six basic necessities of learning. This list may be a reminder that what children need for learning is simple and deep. Below you will find some ideas about each.

(1) a sense of self-worth,

(2) a sense of trust,

(3) curiosity,

(4) the capacity to look and listen carefully,

(5) the capacity to play, and

(6) times of solitude.