Health and Healthcare Systems

What should we tell the kids? Children quiz a doctor on this week's World Vs Virus podcast

Ivan Posta, 8, Vince Posta, 11, and Vilma Posta, pose for a photograph while holding pictures that they drew during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, while standing on the balcony at their home in Budapest, Hungary, April 10, 2020. Ivan drew a soccer ball, "because, I like to play football with friends." Vince also drew a soccer ball "because we can't play football in the garden as there are trees and bushes everywhere." Vilma drew her friends and said she missed her friends the most. "I'm fine, only teachers give too many lessons," she added. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo      SEARCH "CORONAVIRUS DRAWING" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. - RC2BAG91EKM3

What are your children finding tough about lockdown?

Image: REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

  • Dr Ranj Singh, who presents BBC's 'Get Well Soon', takes kids' questions.
  • And gives tips to grownups on tailoring their words to help children.
  • Also, hear vocal artist Reeps One perform for #SongsOfComfort
  • World Versus Virus is a weekly podcast from the World Economic Forum.
  • Subscribe on Apple or Spotify to get it every week.

Talking to children about Coronavirus is not always easy. But Dr Ranj Singh has built a career on communicating with the very young about illness, medicine and hospitals in his BBC TV show Get Well Soon.

So for this episode of World Vs Virus. we asked him to join a Zoom call to take questions from three children, Asal, 6, Ella, 9, and Luke 11.

"Gauge how much your child knows about it already and what their particular worries might be," he tells WVV.

"You might be quite surprised. They may not be worried at all, or they may be worried about something completely different to what you were expecting, wondering why they can't see their friends rather than what the virus is itself."

World Vs Virus is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts where it features on its Essential Listening collection.

Hosted by World Economic Forum editor Robin Pomeroy and published every week, the podcast puts the news in context with insights and analysis from top global experts in economics, technology, health and culture as well as the World Economic Forum’s reporters and editors.
Hosted by World Economic Forum editor Robin Pomeroy and published every week, the podcast puts the news in context with insights and analysis from top global experts in economics, technology, health and culture as well as the World Economic Forum’s reporters and editors. Image: World Economic Forum

Reason to be cheerful

Hear vocal artist Reeps 1's performance for Yo-Yo Ma's #SongsOfComfort.

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