Sesame Street and CNN Team Up to Help Kids Understand COVID-19

A joint town hall is aims to help your younger family members

courtesy Sesame Street

Are your kids really confused when they hear the words COVID-19 or coronavirus? Are they having a tough time understanding why they can’t play with their friends or see their grandparents? This new normal is hard for adults to wrap their heads around which makes it even tougher to imagine how our kids are processing it all. That’s why the minds behind Sesame Street and CNN have teamed up to create a town hall with some familiar faces to help explain the virus. 

On Saturday morning at 9 AM, CNN is airing “The ABC’s of COVID 19: A CNN / Sesame Street Town Hall for Kids and Parents.” The special is aimed at kids and parents and will discuss everything from education and anxiety to screen time and playdates (and why they have to be virtual). 

The 90-minute special will feature Grover, Elmo, Rosita and Abby Caddaby and more furry faves answering questions submitted by families around the country. If you have a question, you can submit it here. Big Bird has a huge job–he’ll be moderating the special along with CNN anchor Erica Hill and chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Nickelodeon also recently aired #KidsTogether: The Nickelodeon Town Hall to help kids understand.

Sesame Street’s website has plenty of materials aimed at helping families cope with COVID-19. Its Caring for Each Other page has resources on everything from washing your hands and lessons on keeping your distance (think Grover teaching about near and far), and creating routines during  this chaotic time. There are also coloring pages, games, worksheets where the kids  can express their feelings and stories read by Alan and Elmo. There’s even some Monster Meditation with Cookie Monster, which sounds like something the whole family might need right now. 

If you missed the Elmo’s Playdate special that aired on HBO Kids, you can watch the full episode now on YouTube. It features social distancing tips via video chat with celebrities like Anne Hathaway, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tracee Ellis Ross.

https://youtu.be/OEBjwWRfBSs

 

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