Even as the country is experiencing a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, we present three resources to enable parents and children to cope with this unprecedented national challenge. They include books for children to understand vaccines, overcome irrational fears, and a website which provides online safety guidelines – Mini P.

V for Vaccine: A One-shot Introduction to Vaccines by Somini Sengupta
Publisher: HarperCollins
Price: ₹99

Against the backdrop of India having launched the world’s largest vaccination drive against Covid-19, in this timely book, author-journalist Somini Sengupta explains the what, why and how of vaccines to children. The three protagonists, Veni, Vidi and Vici, who love talking about all things starting with the letter V, answer questions about the history of the first vaccine, whether animals can get vaccinated, as well as ways and means to build body immunity.

The well-researched, informative text is accompanied by colourful and quirky illustrations sure to hold children’s attention.

The Elephant and The Peanut By Ajay Shankar
Publisher: Notion Press
Price: ₹249

This is a picture book poem for children between the ages of three-eight years. An engineer by education who has been writing stories and poetry for over two decades, Ajay Shankar uses rhyming words and eye-catching illustrations to tell a simple story of an elephant calf separated from his mother and a young boy who shows that you don’t have to be afraid of the unfamiliar and that all you need is curiosity, empathy… and a little peanut to overcome fear and anxiety.

Families handling tech together
http://families.google.com/families

According to a recent survey by Google, two in five parents are not confident about talking technology with their children. These include discussions about screen time, digital well-being, and discovering high quality digital apps, games, and activities. Therefore, in an effort to give parents more control over their children’s digital time, Google has introduced a new ‘families’ website.

This website allows parents to create family groups and manage apps, screen time, etc of children. For instance parents can encourage children to spend more time on approved apps by designating them as “always allowed”. Parents can also access children’s daily, weekly and monthly online activity reports in addition to gathering useful information on parental controls across the worldwide web.