--- title: Ebola: How to Talk to Your Kids About The Ebola Virus description: Here's the best way to calm kids' fear and anxiety over Ebola canonical: https://time.com/3536832/ebola-how-to-talk-to-your-kids/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-24T17:14:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:26.361Z article:section: Health og:title: How to Talk to Your Kids About Ebola og:description: Here's the best way to calm kids' fear and anxiety over Ebola og:url: https://time.com/3536832/ebola-how-to-talk-to-your-kids/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd33de08efc3e1800/6987625e06f2c1d9c23318a0/h_515428113.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Electron micrograph of Ebola virus og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Talk to Your Kids About Ebola twitter:description: Here's the best way to calm kids' fear and anxiety over Ebola twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd33de08efc3e1800/6987625e06f2c1d9c23318a0/h_515428113.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Talk to Your Kids About Ebola > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=1968f264-8aaa-4181-af00-87c0b1ddac42&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Does Insurance Cover Ebola? [Watch (HLS stream): Does Insurance Cover Ebola?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5Fw6St3x.m3u8) (2:17)  _Published 2014-10-24. Your chances of getting Ebola in the U.S. are very slim. But if you do, who's footing the bill?_ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Oct 24, 2014 5:14 PM UTC  epa04374858 An image provided on 28 August 2014 by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a scanning electron micrograph of Ebola virus budding from the surface of a Vero cell of an African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line. EPA/NIAID / HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY / NO SALES epa04374858 An image provided on 28 August 2014 by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a scanning electron micrograph of Ebola virus budding from the surface of a Vero cell of an African green monkey kidney epithelial cell line. EPA/NIAID / HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY / NO SALES NIAID/EPA by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Oct 24, 2014 5:14 PM UTC Even Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Tom Frieden admits it: “[Ebola is scary](http://time.com/3533565/12-answers-to-ebolas-hard-questions/).” But for kids seeing alarming headlines without understanding the context of the disease, Ebola can seem like a looming and personal threat. TIME spoke to Dawn Huebner, a clinical child psychologist and author of the book _What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety_ about the best way to talk about Ebola with your kids—without scaring them silly. **What should I say to my child who is really scared about Ebola?** Let them know that it’s important to think about proximity—how close they themselves are to the virus. Which is to say: not very. “It’s really important to underline that we are safe in the United States, and that people who have contracted Ebola have been in West Africa or were treating patients with Ebola,” says Huebner. “Not only should parents underline how rare Ebola is, and how far away the epidemic is occurring, but also how hard the disease is to contract.” Huebner says parents can tell their older children that direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids like vomit or diarrhea is necessary to spread Ebola. “This has been reassuring to the children I see, as they know they are not going to be touching that,” she says. By ages 7 and up, kids begin to grasp that their worries and fears aren’t always rational. “Parents can talk to kids about how one of the ways worries and anxiety get their power is by making us think about things that are very unlikely,” says Huebner. **Should I keep my child away from the news?** Your kids can watch the news to stay informed, but media overload is not always a good thing. “The news is often sensationalized and gives kids the idea that they are at an imminent risk,” says Huebner. When kids see endless stories about Ebola on the news, they don’t always realize they’re hearing the same thing on loop. “I’ve had kids come into my office who are under the impression that there are hundreds of people in the U.S. with Ebola.” **How do I know if my child is reacting appropriately to the news?** “An appropriate reaction would be to feel nervous and ask some questions, but to be reassured by the parents’ answers,” says Huebner. Psychologists distinguish between questions that are information-gathering, and questions that are reassurance-seeking. If a child asks reassurance-seeking questions—like “Are we going to be ok?”—once or twice, that’s normal. But asking the same questions over and over signifies that a child is really dealing with anxiety and that their concern is not being curbed. At that point, parents may need to sit their children down for a longer conversation to address their fears and concerns. **My kids don’t want to fly on an airplane over the holidays. How do I convince them they are safe?** It’s important to emphasize that the vacation destination is one that is safe, and not at great risk for Ebola. Parents can also stress that no one in the United States has yet contracted Ebola from a plane ride. However, parents should avoid making comparisons, like “It’s more likely to get in a car crash than to get Ebola.” That will only stress a child out more. **Ebola freaks me out too, and I accidentally overreacted in front of my child. How do I fix this?** “One of the wonderful things about children is that you really can revisit things that didn’t go so well the first time,” says Huebner. If parents slip up with an overreaction, they should have a conversation with their children and reference the moment. She suggests a conversation opener like this one: “I was thinking about when you overheard me on the phone with my friend. I was really overreacting. I got nervous when I heard about Ebola, and you saw me when I was nervous. Now I’ve gotten information and I’ve calmed down, and I’ve realized this is a very sad thing that’s happening far away. It’s sad, but it doesn’t have to be scary for us.” Rational, calm conversations will help ease a child’s fears about Ebola. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] The chances of contracting Ebola in the United States, are extremely slim. And if you do, you're likely to receive excellent care. But how much would it cost, and who's paying for it? The answer is not that simple. The cost of treating Ebola in a US hospital, varies greatly. Estimates range from $ 5, 000 to to $ 25, 000, per day. That includes paying for medical staff, intensive care treatment, isolation units, protective gear, waste disposal, and so on. [ MUSIC ] Some patients end up staying at the hospital for weeks, racking up a bill of $ 500, 000 or more. How much of that falls on you depends on how covered you are. Many private insurance companies, cover treatment for Ebola. That's because prolonged treatment of the disease falls under inpatient care. Just as if you were treated in the hospital for something like appendicitis. For example, in recent cases of Ebola that were treated at Nebraska medical center in Omaha, every patient had insurance. Insurance that covered the cost of their care. If you're covered under health insurance exchanges or Medicaid, you'll also likely be covered. But keep in mind that patients could pay thousands of dollars in deductibles, depending on their plan. Also, there's only a limited number of hospitals that have been on the frontline of Ebola treatment, including Emory in Atlanta and Presbyterian in Dallas. And it's possible that your insurance company won't cover the out of network fees. But for something as high- profile as Ebola, experts say that it's highly unlikely that an insurer will put all of that cost on you. If you're not insured, you will still receive treatment, and you may not even need to pay for it. For instance, Nebraska Medical Center said that patients without insurance would be covered by a charitable fund. One thing you won't have to worry about is paying for experimental drug treatment. Such as Zmap. As companies generally don't charge for drugs that are still in the research and development phase. But there are other costs surrounding Ebola to consider. First of all after patients are diagnosed, hey may have to be transferred to specialized centers which may or may not be covered by your insurance. Cleaning up and Ebola contaminated apartment is another big expense. Clean up costs range from between 20, 000 to 500, 000 depending on the size of the apartment or home. While these numbers may seen daunting. The scarier figure is the money needed to eradicate a bullet in West Africa, nearly 1 billion dollars. 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