ShareThis

Helping the Community Cope with COVID-19

June 2020


Help for all: Our resources help both children and adults cope better with COVID-19

COVID-19 can be confusing for children and stressful for adults. Singapore Children’s Society has responded with a series of resources that can help both young and old.

Recent calls to Tinkle Friend, our national toll-free helpline for primary school children, capture how muddled up young ones can get by the deluge of information surfacing in the media – including social media – and that they hear from parents, teachers, and friends. 

The Research and Advocacy Department and the Tinkle Friend team at Student Service @ Children’s Society developed the ‘Tinkle Friend BUZZ COVID-19 Issue’, an online newsletter that breaks down common terms related to COVID-19 into child-friendly nuggets, and offers young ones advice on how to manage their emotions. 

The hotline’s call and chat data also provides good insights for parents, which we have captured in ‘Tips for Parents and Caregivers on Supporting Children Emotionally’. Beyond insights on how children could be affected by the ongoing situation, this resource provides advice on how parents can tackle key concerns and help children cope.

While it is important that families stay home, Community Services & Programmes @ Children’s Society staff have stepped in to ensure that vulnerable children have the resources they need to also stay safe. ‘A Kid's Guide to Staying Safe at Home’ helps young ones identify unsafe situations, and know where and how to get help. A parallel resource targeting adults, including educators, neighbours, relatives and friends – ‘Keeping Homes Safe for Our Children’ – tells them how to spot the warning signs, and how to help.

Putting these digital resources together – and quickly – was a challenge, as was keeping the newsletters targeting the young simple and clear enough for them understand, says Ms Lin Xiaoling, Deputy Director of the Research and Advocacy Department. 

Because of the Circuit Breaker, the teams from Children Outreach @ Children’s Society, Community Services & Programmes @ Children’s Society, Student Service @ Children’s Society, and the Research and Advocacy Department also had to find alternative channels of dissemination. In addition to digital channels, representatives also went on radio to reach out to beneficiaries who do not speak or read English.

Their efforts were well-appreciated, including by other social service agencies. One agency representative, Ms Kosheila, said the resources have been very helpful: “The content is easy to understand and very catchy."

Know someone who might find these materials useful? All our COVID-19 resources can be accessed here: www.childrensociety.org.sg/covid19-resources

Click here to read the story in Chinese.
点击此处阅读中文版本

« Back

Articles

View All