Kids and COVID-19: Safety Tips for Returning Back to School

 

Schools are on the verge of starting, and some schools will bring the kids on campus every day for regular school hours. As nerve-wracking as going back to school may be for most parents, the truth is COVID-19 might be around for longer than we expected and we will have to live with it but take our own safety measures and precautions.

 

In order to ensure safe back-to-school precautions for your kids, you have to follow some very important tips and teach them to your kids as well. Teaching children the importance of safety tips is vital to help prevent any infections.

 

One important tip that goes without saying is making sure you work on keeping your children’s immunity by eating healthy food. Make sure your kids have enough fruits and vegetable servings per day to make sure their immunity is strong.

 

By teaching your children to stick to the following guidelines, you can help ensure them having a safe return back to school and slowly return to normalcy with certain rules and precautions.

 

• Practice social distancing
• Wear a mask or a face shield
• Stay home when sick
• Cover face with elbow when coughing or sneezing
• Sanitize hands and surfaces
• Make sure your kids received all scheduled vaccines

 

Practice social distancing

The number one rule that was said hundreds and hundreds of times by the World Health Organization, (WHO) is to maintain and practice social distancing. Children need to learn to keep at least 2 meters between them and the person next to or in front of them. As hard as it may sound, kids need to learn not to hug, shake hands, or sit close to their classmates.

 

Wear a mask

Wearing a cloth mask inside closed confined settings is a must when discussing back to school precautions for children because data has shown that you can transmit COVID-19 before showing any symptoms. Children under two years of age should not wear masks.

 

Stay home when sick

If your kids show any symptoms such as a fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, congestion, diarrhea, vomiting, or shortness of breath, PLEASE keep them home. If the symptoms persist, have them tested, and keep them home until they have no symptoms at all.

 

Cover face when coughing or sneezing

To prevent the transmission of COVID-19 or any other virus, it is hygienic and very important to cover your face with your elbow when coughing or sneezing or coughing inside a tissue and throwing it away immediately after.

Sanitize hands with soap and sanitize surfaces

Washing hands with soap for 20 seconds is important to keep their hands clean. Make sure to tell your kids to constantly wash their hands with soap and stress on the 20-second rule. If soap is unavailable, make sure your kids have a 70 percent alcohol-based sanitizer with them.

 

Teach your children to sanitize the surfaces around them such as desks or cubbies using alcohol spray.

Make sure your kids took all their vaccines

Making sure your children received all their required vaccines is important whether your kids will be learning online or on campus. Many kids missed out on routine vaccinations due to the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown.

 

Further reading: How to Explain to Kids About coronavirus Without Scaring Them