Noli Timere: The Role of Reassuring Adults in Dealing with COVID-19 Anxiety in Pediatric Age

Smirni, Daniela

Since the earliest stages of the Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) spread, the elderly has been identified as the most vulnerable and health authorities have rightly focused on that population. Minor attention was paid to pediatric populations and their emotional reactions. Actually, children and adolescents faced severe anxiety, fear and stress conditions. An efficient management of the pandemic, therefore, must take into account the pediatric population which cannot be neglected as a minor matter compared to the elderly, the economy and health care. Since the lockdown time is over, children and adolescents must recover sociality, return to living in the open air, rediscover playing, free time, aiming for the beauty of their everyday life. In order to mitigate the long-term impact of COVID-19, the key response is the reassuring presence of the adult as ‘a secure base’. The current study aimed to collect an overview of the recent references that report evidence on the role of adults in containing pandemic anxiety COVID-19 in pediatric populations, suggesting the need to ensure a reassuring presence of the adult, an effective child-parent communication, a child-friendly day and a long-lasting shared time with parents.