Tips to Help Young Parents Cope During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Rais­ing a fam­i­ly isn’t easy and even the demands of every­day par­ent­ing can seem over­whelm­ing. Add the coro­n­avirus pan­dem­ic to the pic­ture, and stress lev­els are cer­tain to rise

Cue the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s lat­est resource for young par­ents and the pro­fes­sion­als who work with them. The one-page doc­u­ment, called ​“Tips for Young Par­ents,” high­lights five ways that care­givers can reduce stress dur­ing this chal­leng­ing time.

The five areas of focus are:

1. Estab­lish a routine;
2. Prac­tice self-care;
3. Use sto­ry time to enter­tain, teach and engage young minds;
4. Plan a vir­tu­al play date; and
5. Be phys­i­cal­ly active.

“For many of us, COVID-19 has turned our world upside down,” says Tam­mi Flem­ing, senior asso­ciate with Casey Foun­da­tion. ​“These unprece­dent­ed times call for new and cre­ative ways to sup­port young par­ents and chil­dren, and our hope is that these tips help par­ents feel less stressed while restor­ing some sem­blance of nor­mal­cy for their young families.”

Read about part­ner­ing with expec­tant and par­ent­ing youth to strength­en communities

Learn more about Casey’s response to the coro­n­avirus pandemic