Hey guys, what's up?
It's Elijah for CBC Kids News .
And welcome to our Kids News
virtual studio.
You're looking at my VR avatar
if you're wondering why I
look a little different.
So this part of the video
where I introduce things
to you guys is
called standup.
Well, because I'm at home
right now with my VR headset on
I get to sit
down to do my stand ups.
Hey everyone!
♪ ♪
We've asked kids
across the country if
a pandemic has been making them
feel sad, stressed or scared
and to submit any questions
they had about it to us.
To answer those questions I'm
back with Dr Carlton Duff.
He has his own VR headset
right now in British Columbia.
Let's go say hi.
♪ ♪
Hi, Dr. Duff.
Thanks for
joining me again.
Did you enjoy your last
visit in our VR studio?
I really did.
I wanted to come back.
Great.
We're happy to have you.
Do you think kids stress
levels have gone up
in the past few months
during this pandemic?
That's a great
question, Elijah,
and the answer is
almost certainly.
It's been really tough for
a lot of kids being stuck
at home and being away from
their family and their friends.
Those are the kinds of
things that actually help
us feel better and reduce
our stress and not having
them around has made
things a lot harder.
What exactly are we talking
about when we say stressed?
Usually when
we're seeing stress we
mean that we're feeling a
kind of sense of pressure
but also a little bit
afraid that something
bad might happen.
So really stress is almost
like the same as the word
we use to describe anxiety.
If kids are feeling
stressed or overwhelmed,
what are some things
kids can do to help feel better?
The first thing is
to make sure that
they're getting enough exercise.
We've done lots and lots
of research on how to help
kids overcome stress over
the last 50 years
and we've found that exercise
is one of the biggest
things to help protect
yourself from feeling stress.
It also helps you feel better
when you're feeling stressed.
Thanks, Dr Duff.
Let's take a look at
the screen behind us
to see our next question.
♪ ♪
 As we maintain
 social distancing,
 what are some safe
 activities that may help
 reduce stress and anxiety?
♪ ♪
Elijah, et me show you
what I think kids can do
in our visualization room.
Awesome, let's check it out.
♪ ♪
Elijah, it looks
like we're outside
in this room, doesn't it?
What's really neat
about forests
is that there's so much to do.
Just like
I said to you before,
it's really important to
be able to exercise
and spend time with your
family and friends as much
as you can and doing it outside
is a great way to do that,
that still allows
you to stay safe.
Yeah, it's really peaceful
in here or out here
or in here I guess because
we're in [unclear].
Anyways, let's head
back to the studio
and look at the next question.
♪ ♪
When will the virus stop?
If middle schools reopen,
will they be safe?
I'm worried about not being able
to see my friends
outside of school because they
are not in my social bubble.
Will everyone automatically
be in a social bubble
once we're back in school again?
♪ ♪
Those are all really
good questions.
They're actually really tough
to answer but you know what?
This is actually a really
good opportunity for kids
to get used to not knowing
how things are going to be.
Sometimes we can feel
afraid of not knowing how
things are going to go and
that makes sense
that we feel that way.
But the truth is, is
that it's not actually
dangerous to not know.
I think what kids can do
when they have questions
like this is they can talk
to their family
and their friends about it.
But also maybe just spend
some time sitting
and letting themself feel a
little bit uncomfortable
about not knowing and not
really having the answer.
It turns out that by doing
that you'll actually get
stronger and tougher and
be able to handle not
knowing even better
in the future.
Thanks again Dr Duff for
joining us and talking to us
and sharing your
advice and your input
during these stressful times.
Hopefully we can meet again
in this virtual studio.
I'd be happy to Elijah
and you're welcome.
That forest we were
in was pretty cool.
I think I could get used
to doing interviews
in virtual reality.
[beeping]
I knew I'd get caught up
in this VR studio again
but that's why this
time I set a timer.
But don't worry I set it
for 10 minutes before my
food is ready so that we
don't have to leave you guys.
Which is good because
I think my VR avatar
looks kind of funny when I
take off my headset right.
All right.
Thanks Zane, Zara, Umeshi
and the kids at
Big Brothers & Big Sisters
for submitting
their questions.
Check out our next video
for more questions
and answers for Dr Duff.
I'm Elija Sandiford for
 CBC Kids News.
Peace!
[he sighs]
I still can't do
the peace sign.
Remind me next time I talk to
my producer about this because
this is getting
out of hand.
How am I supposed to do my
sign off without my peace sign?
♪ ♪
Anyways guys,
like last time, high five.
♪ ♪
