After two months of waiting, the local government units have announced that they will lift the stay-at-home order. It entails that everyone can return to their old lives, albeit not entirely. You still need to maintain a social distance with others to ensure that you can evade the coronavirus if you meet an asymptomatic person.
This new policy is admittedly suitable for working adults. However, it may be too much for kids, given that they are prone to catching the coronavirus. If you allow them to jump back into their former routine, which probably consists of playing outside for hours, you might as well give the virus a warm welcome.
Your children can only stay safe if you:
Avoid Letting Them Go To Public Places
The first thing you should do is avoid taking your children to public places. Most—if not all—schools promise to continue with the homeschool system until there is a vaccine for coronavirus, so they don’t need to go out. Some zoos and malls may reopen, too, but the kids may encounter asymptomatic individuals and catch the disease.
The little ones may protest when you do that, claiming that they are fed up with staying at home. However, you should not give in to their pouts. Limiting their destination is one of the most effective ways to ensure that the coronavirus will not affect them.
Make Sure Their Face Mask Is Always On
The end of quarantine makes people assume that our battle with COVID-19 is over and that we have already won. The number of new positive cases may no longer be soaring high, but we are not close to the end of this pandemic yet. The governments have merely lifted their stay-at-home order because the economy has taken a nosedive.
Given that the coronavirus still exists, your children should have a face mask on, even when they are playing in the backyard. No one can see the virus with the naked eye. After all. It is better to be slightly overprotective than to find your kids fighting COVID-19.
Arrange Playdates With The Same Children
Considering your town has not been affected by the outbreak too much, you may arrange playdates for your children. However, it is not ideal to let them play with different peers every week, even if doing so can improve their social skills. Instead, you should check with their friends’ parents if they are open to playing exclusively with each other.
Others may call you snobbish for doing so, but try not to mind them. You are merely arranging playdates with the same children to ensure that your babies will not interact with different kids and adults often. It will reduce their chances of acquiring the coronavirus, for sure.
Teach Proper Sanitation
It is typical for the little ones to touch whatever they see on automatic, even when they do not leave the family property. E.g., the doorknob, railings, poles, mailboxes, etc. If your children are too young to understand that they should not do that, you may teach them how to disinfect their hands.
This technique matters, especially if most fixtures and accessories at home are metal. You see, the virus may stay on the surface for a few days and infect as many people as possible. In case your youngsters do not know proper sanitation, the lack of knowledge may make them susceptible to the disease.
Final Thoughts
I know how much you and your kids want to have fun and let them enjoy their days post-quarantine. It’s everything that my children talk about these days, too. Still, let’s avoid socializing until the experts have synthesized a vaccine against COVID-19.