Keeping Your Children and Other Family Members Safe as Children Head Back to School

It’s time for our children to be heading back to school, or in some cases, they might already be back. Although both you and your children might be feeling nervous about this, it’s important to reassure children about all the safety measures that are in place to help protect them. It could be scary for them to see teachers and all their friends in masks, and possibly face shields as they return to school, and remind them that they’re being worn to help keep them safe. There are some additional safety measures that you and your children can both do at home and at school to help them and other family members stay safe as children head back to school, see below.

• Take your child’s temperature before they leave for school in the morning.
• If they have a fever of 100.4 or higher, a cough, shortness of breath, or loss of taste or smell or been in direct contact with someone who has COVID-19 your child needs to stay home and not go to school.
• Avoid taking the school bus if they can, either drive them or have them walk or ride (socially distanced) with some neighborhood children if the school is close enough.
• Bring a brown bag lunch rather than waiting in the lunch line if possible.
• Bring a water bottle to school, as fountains will be closed for regular use. There will be water filling stations.
• It should be already, but try to make handwashing a habit. Encourage them to wash hands before eating, before entering a classroom, after touching doors.
• Pack Hand Sanitizer, and encourage them to use it in classrooms if available
• Have many masks available, and wash them daily.
• Rather than have children shower before bed, have them a shower when they return home from school, then change clothes.
• Keep children separate from older or immunocompromised family members.
• Limit close exposure to other children outside of school.

Send your child to school with a bag containing a laminated emergency call list, as well as for instructions for what to do in an emergency. The bag should also contain an extra mask and extra hand sanitizer. These tips should help mitigate the risk of your children and family members contracting coronavirus as they head back to school this year. We hope you all stay safe and healthy in the upcoming weeks and months ahead.