Objective  To examine the awareness of knowledge about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among parents of kindergarten children and disease prevention behaviors of the children in Beijing city and to provide evidences for developing interventions on coping with infectious disease emergency in family settings.

  Methods  Using convenient sampling, we carried out an online survey among 11 731 parents of children in 48 kindergartens in 16 districts across Beijing city with a self-designed questionnaire during February 25 – 29, 2020.

  Results  Valid information were collected from 11 636 (99.19%) of the participants. Among the respondents, the rates of awareness on items of basic knowledge about COVID-19 prevention and control ranged from 96.38% to 99.81%, except for a low knowledge rate (15.89%) for disinfection should not be over conducted in normal home environment; but the rates of awareness on items of basic disease prevention skills ranged from 36.98% to 89.58%. Of the respondents, 81.80% reported the awareness on a quarantine required for someone returning to Beijing from other regions of China or countries. The top three routes for acquiring information on COVID-19 prevention and control were official media, their children′s class WeChat group, and television programs. The disease prevention-related behaviors of the children during previous one month included: going outside (reported by 45.52% of the respondents), wearing a face mask for children (90.05%) or for adults (8.75%) when going out, washing hands more frequently (98.32%), and washing hands voluntarily (42.52%). The proportions of children having their own water cup, dinner set, toothbrush, and washcloth were 98.74%, 87.31%, 99.72%, and 98.14%, respectively. The children′s age was positively correlated with frequency of going outside during previous one month (χ² = 7.36, P = 0.03) and voluntary hand washing (χ² = 108.22, P < 0.01) but reversely with wearing face mask of children (χ² = 30.53, P < 0.01), having their own water cup (χ² = 8.48, P =0.01) or dinner set (χ² = 167.76, P < 0.01).

  Conclusion  The rate of awareness on basic knowledge about COVID-19 prevention and control is generally high but the disease prevention skills is insufficient among parents of kindergarten children in Beijing city. The results need to be concerned in developing relevant intervention programs.