Here are some things to consider. The message seems to be that parents should not worry unduly about what might happen to their kids should they catch the virus.Â. “Anxiety is just another word for fear, so it's helpful for parents to acknowledge the fears they are experiencing,” she says. At the beginning of the year, most families wouldn’t have dreamed of pulling their kids out of school. That’s the only way I’ll feel safe. If children do become infected in spite of this, how badly does it affect them? “Unfortunately, there’s no ‘faking calm’ when it comes to kids, and research shows that when parents try to hide their stress from their kids, it actually increases, rather than decreases, children’s own stress levels,” she says. So if you are a parent in this situation here are some things to try. It’s going to test nasal swabs from nearly 2,000 families in 10 cities every two weeks. These countries all have two things in common: low levels of infection and a reasonably firm ability to trace outbreaks.Â. “When we go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning, we train our brain,” she says. Yes, because that will be the best option for kids' and parents' mental and physical health, both in the short and long term. As politicians and unions battle over reopening schools most parents have one simple question: is it safe to send my kids to class? There is a health risk to sending children back to school – but so far, the evidence suggests this risk is low, as children are less likely to become ill with the virus. She said in-person learning is more effective than and preferable to distance learning. I do not feel safe sending my daughter to school, this virus is not over and going back is only going to cause more cases of COVID-19 because kids catch a lot of sickness during school … Right now, there are 25 kids in my daughter’s kindergarten class. “They are young — both in elementary school — so I think fall into the group which benefits the most and is at lowest risk,” she says. Others are biting their fingernails as they prepare to send their kids out the door. How susceptible are children to covid-19? But most of them recognize it’s a delicate balance. Will they send their kids back to school in September or not? Much of the discussion about returning to school revolves around the risk to the health of our children. But this doesn't mean classrooms can be exempt from social distancing and other safety precautions, particularly if schools intend to welcome kids back on site in less than two months. Here's what they say, 9 things children need to make it through coronavirus crisis, The year of separation anxiety: How back to school is harder than ever in 2020, Anxious about society re-opening? 1. The final crucial question: to what extent do children spread the coronavirus once infected? If you’re stressed, your kids will surely know it, says Rebecca Schrag Hershberg, a psychologist and parenting coach. I feel like there should be enough in place by then to give me confidence they will be safe and in turn not making me ill. I’m a single mother of four children, so I have no one to turn to if I get sick. As politicians and unions battle over reopening schools most parents have one simple question: is it safe to send my kids to class? However, whilst ensuring the health and safety of children is paramount, it is important to acknowledge that a decision on whether children should return to school cannot be made in isolation. Time to make a backup plan. Slingenbergh fears it won’t be possible to maintain the safety measures when school returns in full in September. “If they cue into their parents’ stress, that can activate the child’s stress response.”. Only one in five of those aged 10-19 had any clinical symptoms, compared with 69% of adults over 70. How is your child’s school maintaining social distancing? She was persuaded by the opinion of three medical experts who advise companies about how to respond to COVID-19. It’s a global issue. She can handle this.’”. So how can you manage your fear and avoid transmitting it to nervous kids? Oster says all numbers are tricky, given variable testing rates, but “their reasoning seems basically sound to me.”, “The more information you can seek and relationships you can build to allay your fears, the better off your child will be,” says Jennifer Miller, a family and educational consultant and founder of Confident Parents, Confident Kids. Did your child manage remote schooling well? And what can School districts are announcing COVID-19 reopening plans for K-12 schools across the country. It is possible for children to introduce covid-19 into their household—a study from China identified three occasions when a child under 10 was the “index case” in a home. 1. But it seems to be rare. And then, when it is possible to reopen a school for in-person learning, a layered approach is needed to keep students, teachers and staff safe. How can your child can get to school safely. Keeping children away from school brings significant risks to their health and well-being." If it ends up being the case that children are less susceptible to infection, that suggests closing schools won’t be a very important way to reduce transmission across society, says Rosalind Eggo, an infectious disease modeler at LSHTM, who was involved in the study. But with COVID-19 continuing to spread, parents around the U.S. have justifiable fear about the dangers facing children, teachers and themselves. As David Abramson, a professor of social and behavioral sciences at NYU’s School of Global Public Health, explains, getting kids back in classrooms … Parents have many things to consider — their needs around work, education, and childcare ; the benefits of in-school learning; and their family's health and safety. I will give her extra support before and after school to help her. On the flip side, children are likely to have more close contact with others than adults do, especially in a school, which could potentially mitigate the protective benefit they get from being less likely to catch the virus in the first place. Unfortunately, the answer right now is only maybe. “The risk to the kids is low, and it’s not bad for me or my partner, but I do worry about them going back to school and then seeing my parents,” says Kirsten Minshall, a father of two boys aged 9 and 11 who lives in a seaside town in Kent in the UK. they would say without hesitation bringing all the kids back. What are the factors to consider? A survey showed that some epidemiologists won't send their kids back to school until winter or next year. Others are biting their fingernails as they prepare to send their kids out the door. Here are five reasons we know it’s safe. They’re about half as likely, to be precise, according to a recent study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) using data from China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Canada, and South Korea, published in Nature Medicine. Watch TODAY All Day! These findings were supported by a meta-analysis of 18 studies carried out by researchers at University College London, which found that under-18s were 56% less likely to catch coronavirus from an infected person than adults. Many of the schools that have reopened around the world have introduced distancing measures and schedules that minimize contact between school groups.Â, “I’m less afraid teaching than I am going to the supermarket,” says Marleen Slingenbergh, the head of biology at Alexandra Park School in London, where some schools have reopened for a small proportion of their students. Lisa Tolin is head of special projects for TODAY Digital. There was a time when parents struggling with remote learning (read: all parents) saw sending kids back to school as the promised land, a welcome relief to the return of whatever “normal” awaited. Stress, that can activate the child ’ s kindergarten class school if he or she is sick especially! 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