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children need the basic facts, older kids can deal with more detail and abstraction). Recognize that a change in behavior may be a sign of distress and an opportunity to engage and sup- port. Please consider: • Maintaining a typical routine as much as possible. This includes schoolwork, bedtimes and mealtimes. • Giving age-appropriate information and answering questions hon- estly. • Monitoring use of TV and other media, particularly if your child is constantly looking at COVID-19-related content (Remember, bad information is scary). • Providing opportunities for kids to give and contribute. Help them organize a food drive or a video chat with nursing home patients. This promotes a sense of engagement and teaches resilience. • Managing your own emotions. Remember, our kids are watching. What do you want them to learn? • Acknowledge and recognize grief. Many of us are experiencing loss and uncertainty and it is OK to acknowledge that fact. As this process unfolds, we may lose people we love, jobs that we depend on, perhaps even that sense of safety that we once en- joyed. Coming to terms with loss is necessary and healthy. Now is the time for each of us to reach out as individuals and as a community to support one another, in small ways and in large. • Look for the lesson. I, like many of you, have experienced tragedy in my life. From that experience I have learned valuable lessons. I have learned much about myself and what I value and treasure. I do not know what lessons each of us may learn from this pan- demic, but I do know there is something of value to learn if we leave ourselves open. As I conclude this message, I feel a tremendous sense of com- munity and hope. In some perverse way, this event has given all of us a “time out.” Perhaps this is our time to reflect, reconnect with others and remember what is truly of value in this life. I wish you all well. Dan Marullo, Ph.D., is a pediatric psychologist and neuropsy- chologist at Children’s of Alabama and the University of Ala- bama at Birmingham. n Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter JUNE/JULY 2020 37