COVID-19:
Information for Parents
Last revised/updated 8:24 a.m., February 25, 2022
Peterborough Public Health is committed to supporting parents and caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This webpage provides links to relevant resources for families. The resources are listed alphabetically, by title, and there is a list of acronyms at the bottom of the page.
If you are a student/parent/guardian please visit the Schools & Child Care: Information for Families webpage.
On This Page:
Positive Parenting during COVID-19
Illness, Health and Children
Mental Health Support for Parents, Children and Youth
Co-parenting during COVID-19
Pregnancy, Postpartum and Infant Feeding
Activities and Learning Opportunities
Financial Support for Families
Couple/Parent Tips
About COVID-19
Positive Parenting during COVID-19
- 24/7 The Working Parent Podcasts, The Psychology Foundation of Canada
- Expert psychological advice on questions about parenting and work life submitted by working parents across Canada.
- Child Development and COVID-19, Center on the Developing Child
- This guide pulls together information on COVID-19, what it means for child development, and easy-to-share resources that can help parents and caregivers, as well as child care providers, pediatricians, and others who work with families.
- COVID-19: 24/7 Playful Parenting Parenting for Lifelong Health
- Evidence-based playful parenting tips available in more than 100 languages.
- Communication Strategies, Real Happy Endings
- YouTube Summary of book: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
- Helping Your Kids Get Along: A Dad’s Guide, Dad Central
- Learning Disabilities at Home, LDAO
- Website provides education, knowledge and resources for households of Ontario impacted by Learning Disabilities (LDs).
- My COVID Disability Q, CanChild/Kids Brain Health/Child Bright Network
- Twitter Q and A Hub for Canadian Families with Disabilities
- Pandemic Toolkit Parents Need, Psychology Today
- Article with 8 expert tips to help families stay regulated.
- Parenting Tips, Unicef
- Article with expert tips to help you deal with COVID-19 parenting challenges.
- Parenting Resources, Canadian Paediatric Society
- Website with information on many health topics
- Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting (Interactive resources and free book download)
- Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting Workshops:
- Positive Discipline Workshop 1, Develop Long Term Goals and a Positive Home Environment
- Positive Discipline Workshop 2, Understanding How Children Think and Feel
- Positive Discipline Workshop 3, Problem Solving – Bedtime, Tantrums and Listening
- Positive Discipline Workshop 4, Responding with Positive Discipline
- Talking to Children About the Pandemic, Ministry of Health
- WE GOT THIS: Parenting Support, Jean Clinton
- 18 video episodes by Dr. Jean Clinton, child psychiatrist and Ann Douglas, parenting expert)
Illness, Health and Children
- Caring for a Child with COVID-19 at home, PHAC
- How to Care for a Child Who Needs to Self-Isolate, Public Health Ontario
- COVID-19 PCR Test (video for children), BC Children’s Hospital
- Frequently Asked Questions About COVD-19 and Your Child, Canadian Paediatric Society
- Help Your Child Wear a Mask Comfortably, Kidcrew
- How to take a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT)
Mental Health Support for Parents, Children and Youth
- 30-3-30 Approach, Learn 4 Mental Health
- BounceBack, CMHA
- A guided self-help program for adults and youth aged 15 and over using workbooks with online videos and phone coaching support.
- COVID & Kids’ Mental Health, ChildMind Institute
- How You and Your Kids Can De-Stress, PBS Kids
- Kids Help Phone,
- 24/7 virtual support service offering professional counselling, information and referrals as well as volunteer-led, text-based support to young people in both English and French at 1-800-668-6868.
- Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic, CAMH
- Mental Health During COVID-19: Signs Your Child May Need More Support, AAP
- Parenting in a Pandemic, Ann Douglas with Children’s Mental Health Ontario
- School Mental Health Ontario
- Therapist Guided Program, Mind Beacon
- free mental health support and therapy for Ontario residents dealing with stress, anxiety, depression and more
- Togetherall, Centre for Social Innovation
- A safe, online community where people support each other anonymously to improve mental health and wellbeing.
- Wellness Together Canada, Government of Canada
- Access mental health and substance use support. Always free, 24/7.
- Youth Mental Health Resource Hub, Jack.org
- A hub of resources to help you take care of yourself and look out for the people you love during this challenging time.
Co-parenting during COVID-19
- Help to Separated/Divorced Parents
- Help for Separated and Divorced Parents – Part 1 – Mar 22 2020
- Help for Separated and Divorced Parents – Part 2 – Mar 25 2020
- Parents Should Respect Custody Agreements, Ontario Superior Court of Justice
- Ten Steps to Co-parent During COVID-19 – Psychology Today
Pregnancy, Postpartum and Infant Feeding
- Breastfeeding Help, PPH
- Breastfeeding and COVID-19, Best Start, Health Nexus
- Breastfeeding Matters (your guide to breastfeeding), Best Start
- Childbirth, Pregnancy and Caring for Newborns, PHAC
- Fact Sheet: I am pregnant or breastfeeding. Should I get the COVID-19 vaccine?, Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health (PCMCH)
- Feeding your Baby in an Emergency, PPH
- Feeding your Baby: 6 months to 1 year, PPH
- Infant Hearing (testing and hearing milestones), Infant Hearing Program
- Managing Postpartum Depression during COVID-19
- New baby, and you have COVID-19, Pregnancy to Parenting
- Pregnancy and COVID-19, Unicef
- Q & A on Pregnancy, Childbirth and Breastfeeding, WHO
- Using Infant Formula, PPH
Activities and Learning Opportunities
- Active For Life, Active for Life
- At Home Activity Guide for Birth to Three Years of Age, Zero to Three
- Books, Songs and Rhymes, KidTalk
- Camp Kawartha Activity Resources, Camp Kawartha
- Canadian Canoe Museum From Home, (printables, activities, resources and more)
- Cooking with Kids, Unlock Food
- Executive Function Activities from Infancy to Adolescence, Center on the Developing Child
- Guess the Feeling Game, Daniel Tiger
- How to Deal with Emotions you Feel, Daniel Tiger video
- Learn at Home in Multiple Languages, Ministry of Ontario
- Learning to Play and Playing to Learn, (3 – 5 years of age), Best Start
- Learn with Lego, Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent
- Library Activities from Home, Local Libraries
- Nature Activity Ideas by Age, Pathway to Stewardship (please modify ideas for physical distancing)
- PCFC Programs, Peterborough Child and Family Centres
- Read the World, (authors read their books) WHO and Unicef
- Rediscovering Play (podcast), Active for Life
- Sesame Street and Naming Feelings, (YouTube video) Sesame Street
- Science at Home, Science North
- Science at Home, Ontario Science Centre
- Sports Camp (virtual sports activities for all ages), True North Sports Camp
- Stay Active at Home, Participaction
- Storytelling (3 ways to teach kids how to tell stories), The Conversation Canada
- Virtual Tours of Museums, Zoos and Theme Parks
- Virtual Tours from NASA
- Weekly Themed Activities (virtual and/or curbside pickup craft kits), Peterborough Public Library
- YMCA Virtual Gym Class, YMCA
- You’re the Chef, Visual Recipe Collection, PPH
- Your Zoo to You (daily virtual events), Toronto Zoo
Financial Support for Families
- Budgeting Tips for Families, Parenting for Lifelong Learning
- Budget Planner (online interactive tool), Government of Canada
- Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB), Government of Canada
Couple/Parent Tips
- Build a Healthy Relationship, Help Guide International
- Dads! Renovate Your Relationship (14 Tools), Dad Central
- Dealing with Uncertainty, Help Guide International
- Healthy Relationship Tips, Red Cross
- Promoting Safe Relationships, PHAC
- Safe Sex and COVID-19, B.C. Centre for Disease Control
About COVID-19
- COVID-19 Fact Sheets (30 languages), Harvard Health Publishing and Health Literacy Project
- Coronavirus: A Book for Children, (free download), published by Nosy Crow
- Coronavirus Indigenous Story for Children, (free download), Cree Health
- COVIBOOK, a book for children in many languages, Mindheart
- Everybody Worries (a book for young children)
- My Hero is You, (free storybook for children on COVID-19, in multiple languages)
*Acronyms
AAP = American Academy of Pediatrics
CAMH = Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
CDC = Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
CHEO = Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario
CMHA = Canadian Mental Health Association
CMHO = Children’s Mental Health Ontario
CPS = Canadian Paediatric Society
HSK = The Hospital for Sick Children
LDAO = Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario
PCFC = Peterborough Child & Family Centres
PHAC = Public Health Agency of Canada
PPH = Peterborough Public Health
WHO = World Health Organization