24 Nov 2020
Villony Virus Comes to Town is a helpful new resource, designed to assist parents and carers in communicating about the pandemic to primary school aged children. The book, authored by NSW based clinical psychologist Janice McKay, was based on her own family’s experiences with COVID-19 restrictions in NSW.
Janice was inspired to write the story after struggling with the separation from her own grandchildren during the height of COVID-19 restrictions. In a close-knit family unit, where her grandchildren would enjoy twice weekly visits, it was confusing and a little distressing that their regular routine has suddenly changed.
Janice has written stories for her grandchildren in the past and wrote Villony to help them understand the changes that were happening around them, including not being able to see their grandparents, teachers and friends.
Janice soon realised the need for a tool to assist other parents and carers who might be facing a similar situation, in having healthy, constructive communication with their children about the pandemic, so she decided to publish Villony Virus Comes to Town.
“COVID-19 is not the kind of problem that you can keep away from children, it’s so widespread and it’s affecting everyone’s day to day lives. Children will often worry when faced with new circumstances,” Janice said.
Janice wants to assure parents and carers that by broaching these difficult subjects, they won’t be harming their child, in fact, it’s better to talk to your children to understand how they’re feeling, and reassure them that although things might be a little different, everything is going to be okay.
“Children are very perceptive about the world around them, they pick up information from hearing the news on the tv or radio, so avoidance is rarely the best strategy. It’s best to address the issue in an age appropriate way to help them make sense of what is going on. The book is intended as a guide to help parents and grandparents with these conversations,” Janice said.
Students in Year 1 at Lyons Early Childhood School had the opportunity to read the new book and were thoroughly engrossed in the story. They recognised some of the situations depicted in the story from their own experiences in 2020, from video calls and pyjama days, to not being able to see friends, teachers and other family members during COVID-19 restrictions and remote learning.
Janice hopes that in addition to helping families make sense of a difficult year, that in years to come, we can look back on the time that Villony represents and feel pride for our resilience and for challenges overcome and that the story will serve as a positive memento of times past.
Everyone feels anxious or worried at different times. But for some children and young people these anxious feelings can start to affect their daily activities. These feelings can start to interfere with their life and make it hard to do things such as going to school or doing things they used to enjoy. It can also affect how they get along with other people.
If you notice changes in your child’s behaviour you can talk to your school and/or seek further support from a medical professional.
The Education website has a list of resources relating to wellbeing that you may find useful.
You can buy a copy of Villony Virus Comes to Town at participating retailers.