- During his speech Monday evening, Emmanuel Macron several times mentioned the "war" to be waged against the coronavirus.
- For child psychiatrist Xavier Pommereau, this martial language can have an impact on children.
- He therefore advises to make it clear that this is a "war against a virus, it is not a war against people".
We are in a “war” against the coronavirus pandemic. Emmanuel Macron was very clear in his speech Monday evening on the subject. "France has never had to make such decisions in peacetime," said the president, stressing that "no one can know" how long the epidemic would last. Can this warrior lexicon affect children? We asked the question to child psychiatrist Xavier Pommereau who runs a day hospital for 16-25 year olds at the Béthanie clinic in Talence (Gironde).
Can this martial lexicon adopted by Emmanuel Macron have an impact on children?
The answer is yes but at the same time, it was in my opinion obligatory on the part of the president of the republic to use this kind of vocabulary after the weekend that we spent where obviously on all the lawns, in all parks and on the banks of all the rivers, the French were in family, arm in arm, without realizing the extent of the disaster.
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Afterwards, obviously, we have to take this up with the children. It's war against a virus, it's not war against people, it has nothing to do with it. We protect ourselves because it is like an invisible, sneaky enemy that lies in wait for us, but it is against the virus that we fight and we do it in solidarity all together. It is in this sense that we must respect the instructions and the confinement, even if it is not at all funny.
How to manage children's fear?
I believe that parents, perhaps with the help of third parties, mediators, have to find the words to explain to the children that when we say "it's war" and we repeat it several times, it is not to frighten for nothing, it is because it is important to guard against this danger. Young children, even very young, they are not stupid, they see that there is something weird. Even at 3 years old, they can begin to understand given the concern of parents who spend the whole evening watching TV to listen to the news. The situation is serious, I think it is absolutely essential that the children understand this.
What do you advise parents?
What I would recommend to parents is to take the opportunity not to calm them down by telling them "but no don't worry, it's nothing, it will last three days", it is to tell them "if you want we are going to watch films together where it was when it was the real war ", when the people were behind their posts listening to General de Gaulle who was sending them messages. It is interesting in my opinion to take the opportunity to do history lessons so that the children can measure how it feels when it is the real war.
If, despite this, some children have anxiety attacks, what should they do?
You have to teleconsult, that's what I do. Doctors absolutely have to organize themselves, I trained on Sunday. I had never done a teleconsultation in my life, I was even very reserved on the method because it did not seem very compatible with a psychiatric interview. But I realize that ultimately on good medical platforms, it really makes it possible to talk to each other. Parents must not hesitate. We doctors, we have to be there to reassure because, of course, there will be anxiety attacks, both in children and in adults.
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