BOISE, Idaho - The outbreak of COVID-19 has created uncertain times, which can be especially scary for kids. A doctor has advice for parents during this health crisis.

Robert Sege is a pediatrician at Tufts Medical Center's Floating Hospital for Children, and was scheduled to speak at a conference this week - sponsored by the Idaho Children's Trust Fund - before the event was cancelled.

Sege says parents can start by asking their kids what they know about the virus, noting they'll most likely respond with worries and misinformation. They'll also be concerned about their parents' health.

"Parents can very accurately say they're going to be safe and their children are going to be safe," says Sege. "And all of the restrictions that we're doing are because we're part of a large society and we want to keep everybody safe. And children can really get that."

To combat misinformation, Sege says it's important for parents to be well-informed.

Sege says next, parents need to set up their lives for the new restrictions.

Many Idaho kids are out of school and missing valuable meals. Parents, too, could be out of work.

Sege says families shouldn't feel any shame for taking advantage of local food assistance. He also emphasizes that they shouldn't stay cooped up inside, unless local restrictions apply.

Being outdoors is important for kids. And for older children, he says, it's important to maintain social connections.

"Teenagers may be able to set up video groups to talk to each other and be with each other," says Sege. "Parents should encourage that - of course, monitoring for things like bullying. But remember that this is very stressful for the kids, whose lives have been turned over."

Sege reminds parents not to forget about older adults, who may be dealing with more extreme social distancing measures. One activity for kids could be writing cards to grandma or grandpa.

Parents' health is key to all this as well. Sege says if it's safe to have kids stay at a friend's house for a playdate, this can free up time for adults to run errands, exercise or care for their mental health in other ways.

"We know that this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint," says Sege. "So, being able to do something for one day or even a week is important, but setting up routines that enable us to keep our households going is also important."

Advocates for foster children in Massachusetts are encouraging people to open their homes and hearts to adoption.

More than 8,000 children in the Commonwealth are currently living in foster care and seeking permanent, loving families.

Rita Soronen, president of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, said too often people believe the myth children are placed in foster care for bad behavior.

"It's important to know that there are reasons why that child is in care but there are reasons that are no fault of theirs," Soronen explained. "It's a family that has not done well by them."

Soronen pointed out foster care adoption in Massachusetts is free. Most application and legal costs are covered by the state. She noted many agencies have also improved the administrative process to ensure foster kids and their new families can get connected more quickly.

Research shows youths who age out of foster care without a family are at an increased risk of facing negative outcomes such as homelessness, unemployment or reentering into government systems.

Marisol Santana of Shrewsbury was adopted last year at age 19 after spending roughly 15 years in the foster care system. She said her new life is like a dream come true.

"I got to graduate from a better school. I got to do prom," Santana recounted. "I have love now that I'm surrounded by, and it's one of the most amazing feelings in the world."

Marisol is also now a big sister to three younger siblings and her mom said she has embraced the role.

Members of the Santana family are sharing their experience with the hope it will encourage other families considering foster care adoption to take the leap. They advised people to reach out to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which can help answer any questions and direct them to local organizations to help begin the adoption process.

If the election season made one thing clear, it is neither side can hear what the other is saying and one expert believes it is because most of us were not taught "active listening" in school.

Christine Miles, founder of The Listening Path Classroom program, said only about 2% of schools offer formal listening skill development programs, which can handicap our success as adults. Miles believes too many of us listen half-heartedly, keen to share our thoughts or arguments the minute the other person stops talking.

"This is not new," Miles pointed out. "Since 1957, there's been talk about the fact that there's not formal education in schools on listening, and the reason I think it hasn't been solved is because listening has been notoriously hard."

Research shows students from kindergarten through 12th grade spend 50% to 75% of their classroom time listening, yet comprehend only 25% to 50% of what they hear. According to Miles, when it comes to politics, it is rarely effective to argue someone into adopting your position.

Miles believes technology is partly to blame for poor listening. Kids spend so many hours on their electronic devices, Miles explained some develop a natural form of attention deficit disorder, even if they don't have the condition biochemically.

"What the technology has done is made our brains even more impatient and more distracted than they already were," Miles contended. "If we don't help them learn how to have conversations about things they disagree about, how will they learn how to manage that?"

Miles noted becoming an adult without good listening skills can affect both academic success and social-emotional learning. To develop better skills, experts recommended being fully present in a conversation, showing interest by practicing good eye contact, asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing and reflecting back what has been said and withholding judgment and advice.


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The early childhood development initiative "Too Small to Fail" is expanding in Pennsylvania to boost children's brain and language development, preparing them for kindergarten and beyond.

Nearly 60% of children in the United States begin kindergarten unprepared, lagging behind their peers in essential language and reading skills.

Perri Chinalai, managing director of the Too Small to Fail program for the Clinton Foundation, said her organization is partnering with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and the United Way of Pennsylvania to implement 250 new early education programs over the next two years.

"We worked with laundromats and transforming laundromat spaces into literacy-rich environments, because we know that families are going to laundromats," Chinalai explained. "How can we think about really encouraging talking, reading and singing in spaces where families are?"

Chinalai added the Barbara Bush Foundation works with children in early learning all the way through school-age kids, and the Too Small to Fail focuses on children aged 0-5. The initiative has donated more than 1.4 million children's books to families in under-resourced communities.

Chinalai noted they partnered with the Department of Public Health and Office of Homeless Services to transform two health centers in Philadelphia and a homeless intake shelter. She added over the past 11 years, the program has worked with communities across the country and have launched more than 40 campaigns.

"For the first year of this project, through our partnership with the United Way location, we will be partnering with six different locations, including the Titusville region, Lycoming County, Wyoming Valley, Southern Allegheny Capital Region and Bucks County," Chinalai outlined. "To really think about how we can incorporate these strategies within the work that they're already doing for children and families."

She added they are also working with a local bookstore called Tree House Books to restock bookshelves. She emphasized the campaigns will focus on training trusted messengers, transforming learning spaces and distributing resources to families.


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