COVID-19 Information from School Nurse

Don’t give up now! Keep up the good work!

As we enter into the Easter holiday, Ohioans have clearly illustrated what we can accomplish when we all do our part, no matter how small. The most recent statistics in Ohio show that the measures we are taking, good handwashing, social distancing and surface cleaning, are decreasing the numbers of Ohioans that have become ill with COVID-19. Although that is great news, it is very important that we keep up the good work. Experts on infectious disease have cautioned us against becoming complacent and relaxing the restrictions too soon.

Please continue to stress social distancing and good handwashing to your children. Some measures that may be helpful to keep children engaged and safe include:

• Maintaining a daily routine including a regular sleep schedule, time for school work and time for play.
• Encouraging daily physical activity. Engaging in some type of vigorous physical activity daily is good for children’s bodies but also for their mental health. Just remember, this is not the time to schedule play dates or sports activities with friends. Young children may enjoy this Go Noodle Program Click here. YouTube has a wide array of fitness videos that older children and parents may enjoy.

  Enjoy the holiday weekend and keep up all of your good work. Remember, we are all in this together and the sacrifices we are making now are helping to keep our community strong and healthy!

Explaining Social Distancing to Your Children

Our whole community, our whole way of living, has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Until a few weeks ago few of us thought about the concept of "social distancing." Now the practice of social distancing is our greatest hope of decreasing the impact of this virus on our families and community. This concept has changed the way we interact with our family and friends and has caused stress and anxiety for all of us.

As with any type of significant change in the way we live, as adults we must consider the impact of this on our children and attempt to provide age appropriate information to ease the stress and anxiety that they may feel. It is important that children understand what social distancing is and why it is important.

When explaining what social distancing is to your children, key points to include are:

• It is best to stay at home with only the family members that live in your house
• If you must leave your home, you need to stay at least 6 feet away from other people. The 6 feet may be a difficult concept for younger children to grasp. Use common items such as the length of a mattress or the length of a door to illustrate the distance.
• During this time we can’t have play dates, sleepovers, birthday parties or play at the park with our friends.
• We can communicate with family and friends by phone, video chat, email, or even letter writing.
• We can play in our yards with people living in our house.

In addition to explaining what social distancing is, children also need to understand why this is necessary. Key ideas to communicate to your children include:

• Most children that get this virus have mild or no symptoms.
• Even though children may have mild or no symptoms, they can spread the virus to other people.
• This virus can make some people very sick. The people that are most at risk are people with other illnesses and older people.

Because teens tend to be more social they may have the most difficulty abiding by social distancing measures. It is very important to be honest with your teen children about the importance of these measures to protect more vulnerable members of the community. Rather than causing conflict, approach your teen from the perspective of the important role they can play in preventing spread of this illness to older family members or those with other illnesses. Allow them to express their feelings honestly and encourage them to seek alternative ways to fulfill the need for social interaction.

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A couple of videos on YouTube that can be helpful in explaining coronavirus to young children are:

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