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Alyssa Milano talks being in quarantine with her kids: 'They're aware that there's a deadly virus going around right now'

Actress and activist Alyssa Milano has been finding life in quarantine challenging, particularly when it comes to articulating what is going on to her children.

In an interview with BUILD Series, the Charmed actress opened up about life in quarantine with her husband, Dave Bugliari, and their children, 8-year-old Milo Thomas and 5-year-old Elizabella.

Earlier this month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that schools would be closed for the remainder of the academic year due to the coronavirus, so Milano and her husband have been trying to establish a sense of normalcy for their kids, which includes homeschooling them for a few hours each day.

“Well the first week, we kind of tried that, ‘Well, we'll just let them try to enjoy this time and we'll watch movies,’ and that didn't work,” the mother of two admitted. “[It’s] not so much about it didn't work for me and Dave, because I think at this point we do anything that would work for the kids, but it just didn't work for the kids; my kids, they like structure, you know, that they like to know what comes next, so it was important for us to figure out some sort of schedule for them.”

Alyssa Milano has been staying at home with her children. (Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage)
Alyssa Milano has been staying at home with her children. (Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage)

Though creating a schedule was important, Milano confessed that her kids have found themselves constantly worried about their grandparents, whom they affectionately call “Mamie” and “Papa.” With CDC officials reporting that U.S. citizens 65 years and older are at high risk of contracting coronavirus, Milano says she has been trying to find ways to comfort her kids about their older loved ones.

“That has been an interesting thing of trying to validate their feelings, right, and say, ‘I know this is a scary time and you know it's OK to ... feel that way, but let's try to figure out all the things that Mamie and Papa are doing right now to take care of themselves so that you feel less fearful that they're going to get sick,’” she shared.

Aware of all the destruction coronavirus has been causing, the actress believes in keeping her kids abreast of what is going on while not exposing them to too much news.

“We've chosen to be honest with them, but still shelter them from the really devastating news,” she said. “But they're aware that there's a deadly virus going around right now and that this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing that Mommy and Daddy have never had to deal with, so we’re kind of just doing the best we can all together and you know they're ... making it pretty easy on us, but it's hard.”

Milano also joked that probably the hardest part of quarantine is her kid’s schoolwork.

“And any parent that’s had to do common core math in the last month … [gives us] a whole new appreciation for our teachers,” she laughed.

For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC and WHO’s resource guides.

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