How Should You Approach Your Child With The COVID-19 Vaccine?

Explain to your child that getting vaccinated is the best way for them to be able to return to the activities and experiences they miss most, like school, extracurricular activities, summer camp and vacations. It’s also the only way to protect others.

“Vaccinating everybody around them really helps to prevent and reduce the risk that we’re spreading it to each other,” says an expert.

Approaching Your Kids About Vaccination

1. Make Sure You’re Up To Date Yourself

Before talking to your children about COVID-19 vaccines, it is important that you understand them yourself. A great place to start is our conversation with Dr. Mike Varshavski.

2. Ask And Listen

Invite your child to share what they have heard about COVID-19 vaccines and listen to their responses. It is important to be fully engaged and take any fears they have seriously. Be patient, the pandemic and misinformation has caused a lot of worry and uncertainty for everyone. Let them know that they can always talk to you or another trusted adult (such as a teacher) about their concerns.

Be Honest With Them

Children have a right to know what is going on, but it should be explained to them in an age-appropriate way. Keep in mind that kids take their emotional cues from adults, so even if you are worried for your little one knowing that they might be uncomfortable, try not to overshare your fears with your child. Play can be a helpful tool for working through difficult emotions with younger children. If your little one seems anxious, try drawing together or exploring his/her feelings through pretend play.

Answer Their Questions

Here are some kid-friendly responses to keep in your back pocket for questions your child may have about COVID-19 vaccines:

What is a vaccine?

A vaccine is like a shield that protects you from an illness.

How do vaccines work?

Vaccines teach your body how to fight off illnesses. They do that by putting a tiny piece of the germ that causes the illness you need protection from (or something that looks like the germ) inside your body, so your body can learn what it needs to do to fight it off. This way if you ever come into contact with the illness your body knows exactly what to do, which stops you from getting sick.

Are vaccines safe?

Yes, vaccines are very safe! Millions of children (and adults!) get vaccinated every year, which helps protect them from lots of diseases. When we get a vaccine, we might get a temperature or some aches, but this doesn’t last long and is many times better than getting sick from the illness. These signs also show that the vaccine is working and that your body is building up the protection it needs to fight the disease.

When can I get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Older people [give an example of a family member or friend] are more at risk of getting sick from COVID-19 than children. That’s why the vaccines are being given to adults first. Doctors are now testing the vaccines to make sure that they work well for children too. We will get the news from our Ministry of Health once it’s ready for kids. In the meantime, it’s important that we continue to keep ourselves and others safe by wearing masks, washing our hands and physical distance.

Conclusion

Children are not amongst the priority groups for receiving COVID-19 vaccines and that this will remain the case for many countries in the world. This is because the focus is on protecting those most at risk of severe disease and death due to COVID-19 – the elderly, those with other illnesses and frontline health workers. These populations must be vaccinated prior to the vaccination of children.

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