If you have been contemplating the work trip, cancelling the swim class, hesitating on the birthday party, you may be experiencing Coronastination (Corona-procrastination).
As the situation escalates around the world, and WHO declaring Covid-19 a pandemic, the most effective protection one can have is to stay alone at home……..until…….when?
It’s a hairy situation currently, no pun intended with our Crazy Hair Day at school today. I wish we could let our hair down on the situation soon. But it may be awhile before we get Covid-19 out of our hair.
As parents, how do we best protect our child whilst trying to keep up a semblance of normalcy in family life?
The question is, how long can we as parents Coronastinate?
As a school operator of places that bring together a congregation of people, what are the measures we can do to safeguard our children?
I am a practical and prepared mama, and our schools have been extremely proactive in our defence measures. Thankfully, our parents are highly supportive of our defence response measures.
Following my post on the Social Emotional Impact of Covid-19 on our child, I have been inundated with messages from parents, service providers, educators and the general public.
As the Covid-19 situation escalates, the anxiety level of parents follows in tandem.
Let’s put this in perspective so we can keep it in check and manage the social, emotional impact on our child.
Emotions run high at the moment, and I thought it’s good to structure the anxious thoughts into 3 key areas.
1. What do we understand about Covid-19 and its transmission?
It’s a viral disease that transmits from one infectious person to another. The virus passes through contact of bodily fluids, so it’s important to keep the environment clean.
It has an incubation period of 14 days from the point of contact.
Understand your risk and action by degrees.
- Infected/positive Covid-19 patient (0)
- 1st degree (1): Someone in close contact with the positive case; please self-quarantine and get tested. Stay away from public until you are negative and for 14 days (from the last you met the positive patient).
- 2nd degree (2): Someone in contact with 1st degree (1); please self-quarantine until (1) tests negative; sanitize environment where (1) and (2) have been.
- 3rd degree: Someone in contact with 2nd degree (2); stay updated with the development of (1) and (2).
2. What can we do as parents?
- Avoid organizing gathering, especially one that puts children directly with people you don’t know the contact and travel history of.
- Reduce exposure, and be selective with the environment you bring your child to. Make sure it’s as controlled an environment as possible. Avoid random, spontaneous venues where you have less idea of the environment maintenance.
- Boost the child’s and your own health through supplements, drinking plenty of fluids, sleeping sufficiently, practicing good personal hygiene.
- Educate your child on the virus and why they should practice good hygiene, avoid unnecessary body contact socially.
- Be socially responsible: if you suspect you may be at risk of being infected with Covid-19, please keep your child from school and alert your school so they can be on standby.
3. What can/should schools do, since schools are congregation points?
- Take the temperature and check the child’s entire well-being at entry. Increase the frequency of this check during school hours. This body check should apply to staff, service providers and parents.
- Sanitize/wash hands at entry. Increase this frequency during the high risk period. Limit the adult traffic into the school environment. Always take travel and contact declaration of the adult visitors, even if it is a recurrence such as a weekly service provider, because circumstances may have changed.
- Deep sanitize your environment with a product that provides continuous surface protection. Increase the frequency of this disinfection procedure.
- Intra-day cleaning must take place on top of the commercial sanitization. Increase the frequency of this cleaning process to keep the environment clean and less conducive for virus to spread. High traffic areas should be cleaned at a higher frequency.
- Limit fine motor skill activities, water play that encourage contact.
We may Coronastinate and slow down our social life, but life does go on, especially when we have young children! Hence why we are preparing for our term wind-down events to be digital.
The situation is fluid and we would adapt as information changes. Your assistance and support continue to be welcomed. If you have more questions regarding Covid-19 for your child, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Share this post. Don’t Coronastinate!
Let’s take positive action, band together (not gather physically 😅) to combat Covid-19.
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