By Naomi Parris
Amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic there is a heightened level of anxiety in the atmosphere as the world continues to watch the virus sweep across countries snuffing lives away and crumbling economies.

While there has been a mental strain on adults and young people, the pandemic has also had its effects on children as they are still trying to comprehend what a pandemic really is.

Twenty-one-year-old Ashley Anthony, who is currently studying biomedical engineering and history of science public health and medicine at Yale University birthed a children’s COVID-19 storybook to teach children the basics about the virus and how to protect themselves.
The initiative for the book ‘Lia & Ellie talks about Coronavirus’ according to Anthony was erected when herself and classmates were instructed by their professor to create an information vehicle based on the challenges of the global health crisis.

Capitalising on the current health crisis, Anthony chose to create a children’s book about the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I wrote this book as a final project for one of my classes. The class was Challengers and response in global health…and so for our final project it was really open-ended and they gave us the option to write about some children’s book to write about some topic,” Anthony said.
Additionally, the young woman stated that she chose the Coronavirus because it was topical and she believes that it is particularly important for children to understand what is happening right now.

“I feel as though the pandemic has been stressful on all of us and it has been a lot of adjustments to this new kind of lifestyle and as young adults and as teenagers we kind of understand why we have to make these changes but children might not and it’s not always at the top of our priorities to sit down and talk to kids about what’s going on,” she explained.

The young woman noted that as much as everyone is struggling with mental health and the increasing levels of anxiety because of being socially isolated, children are also suffering since they do not understand why they have to be socially distant.
“I just really think that it is important that we provide kids with information. It is also important that the information comes from a reliable source because we don’t want kids to ask their friends,” she said.

It’s a good way to communicate
Anthony, who has a knack for writing, told the Pepperpot Magazine that the book gives parents a way to communicate with their children about the pandemic and the effects it can have on them if they do not take the necessary precautions.

“I think it’s important to have ways to communicate with children with this health crisis but I recognised that for a lot of parents that is not an easy task especially for parents who themselves might not understand all of the reasons why they need to stay inside,” she said.
For parents, she added it has has been difficult to talk about the topic since many do not want to overwhelm their children with the harsh realities of the health crisis, “What information do I share with my child versus what is too much or what might overwhelm them…so I think that a children’s book is a really good way to start the conversation. I don’t think that it answers all the questions but it provides a way for the parent to begin addressing this topic,” she said.

It has been difficult
Meanwhile, Anthony has been adapting and learning to cope with the effects of the pandemic herself. The young woman noted that she was forced to move out of her dorm quarters after a student at the University tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Anthony revealed that she had plans to return home to spend the summer with her immediate family, however, due to the virus the airports have been closed for some time and it is still unsure as to when they will open since travelling is no longer permitted as per normal.

“It has been difficult maybe in unexpected ways actually. We have spring break that starts around March 8 and ended on March 23rd and so leading up to spring break things were pretty normal and then things started to go very badly very quickly and all the plans that I made got thrown out the window,” she said.

Luckily Anthony has family in the United States who she has been staying with for the time. “I was lucky because my uncle has a place in Maryland, and I was able to come and spend the time with him and so I have been here and it has been good to spend time with extended family, bond and become closer,” she said.
Nevertheless, being around family has helped her to remain calm amid the uncertainties of wh