SUMMER BREAK: How Can You Keep Teenage Children Healthy During the Upcoming COVID-19 Summer?

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On the Eve of Memorial Day, St. Jude Child & Family Experts Release Teen-Specific Coronavirus Resource

New Teen COVID-19 Resource Joins Suite of Tools for Parents & Children of all Ages

As the Memorial Day holiday approaches and the official start of summer break, the family and child life specialists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have developed a new resource geared specifically for teenagers to better understand the virus and how to stay healthy this summer.  The new teen resource provides accurate, scientific and illustrative explanations in age-appropriate language about the virus, how it spreads, symptoms, protective measures for both physical and mental health/self-care.   

The new teen resource joins a suite of age-appropriate tools for parents and children of all ages from teens, pre-teens and younger children available in multiple languages (currently in English, Spanish, French and Arabic).  The suite of tools was designed by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s child and family experts for utilization by parents and caregivers to help children better understand the current COVID-19 pandemic.

St. Jude Together  (together.stjude.org) has an entire set of resources for parents, including information developed by the St. Jude experts on “how to talk to your children about coronavirus and COVID-19” to tips and frequently asked questions children may ask about the virus.

– General Resources: for general information on the coronavirus and children, St. Jude has developed a general resource page about the pandemic for parents, children and families to consult, which includes how to talk to children, music therapy and educational resources.
– Teen Resources: for teenage children, St. Jude has developed illustrative explainers – “the story on the coronavirus” about the virus, how it spreads, its symptoms, how to protect ourselves, and what a pandemic is? 
Young Children: for younger children, St. Jude has developed a suite to tools intended to help educate children about the pandemic itself and the impact it is having on our daily lives. The Learn About the Coronavirus Coloring Book developed for children ages 5-9 (currently being translated into nine additional languages), as well as the Learn About the Coronavirus Activity Book geared more toward “tweens” ages 10-13 more or less.

To speak with any of the following St. Jude child and family experts about the COVID-19 resources, please contact Marvin Stockwell at marvin.stockwell@stjude.org or 901-734-8766.

Valerie Crabtree, PhD – Chief of St. Jude Psychosocial Services and associate faculty member in the St. Jude Psychology Department.  Available to discuss the overarching psychology of producing age-appropriate resources and the importance of families discussing honestly and openly about the current coronavirus pandemic. 

Kristin Canavera, PhD – Assistant Faculty Member in the St. Jude Psychology Dept. Available to discuss the project of putting together the St. Jude COVID-19 resources for children and family.  Kristin worked closely on developing this project.  

Rachel Schmelzer – Child Life Specialist in the St. Jude Child Life Program. Available to speak about how these products are designed to work with children and has a deep understanding of the psychology of childhood development.Emily VanGilder – Illustrator and graphic designer in the St. Jude.

Emily was responsible for developing all of the art and graphic design.  These designs are her artistic interpretation of the coronavirus.

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