News headlines in the morning newspaper:
India crosses 4 lakh coronavirus cases, Schools/colleges will be reopening after September 15, 2020
If you have young kids up to the age of 8 or 10, then they may be excited to read that news, but you aren’t.
They are excited to go back to school after such a long gap, to see their friends and to be able to play with them; while you are worried about them breaking all rules of social distancing and the fact that you won’t be able to keep an eye on them while they are going to be outdoors for 6 hours straight, surrounded by a lot of people, amid a global pandemic! Your kids might probably have marked the date on the calendar with a little drawing of a party popper by now, and you dread every day looking at the same calendar.
And that is natural. We know how kids are, more than the fear of the existing virus that’s pretty much lurking everywhere, they are thrilled to be able to step out and be around their friends and are craving to get their old school routine back. And no matter how much you hate it, it is what it is.
Here are a few tips on how you could face your fear and the issue with sending your kids to school:
-
First and foremost you need to have “the talk” with your child. Your kids might be reluctant to listen to you talking about social distancing norms for the umpteenth time in 3 months but you will have to do it again. They need to realize how important it is to maintain distance with even their best friend, to be safe, and to keep others safe too.
-
Educate them to avoid drinking water or having food from their friend’s water bottle or tiffin and tell them to avoid sharing their food and water with others too. Sharing is caring, for sure, but in times like these, maintaining distance and being apart seems to be more of a caring gesture.
-
Give them a mask and ask them to wear it the whole time they are in school and even while traveling back and forth. Give them gloves to cover their hands and don’t forget to give them a sanitizer, and ask them to use it properly.
-
Ask your kid to take a shower as soon as they come back home and disinfect their bags and other belongings immediately.
-
Keep giving your kids immunity-boosting foods, to make them more immune and strong from within.
Sending your child back to school, at this point, when coronavirus has reached its peak, certainly seems pretty scary! The world has come to a halt, and it needs to get a restart. And with the right kind of care and precautions, you and your child will be able to make it out safely, without any harm. So try not to stress yourself much and start preparing your kids for the forthcoming situations.
