5 Simple Ways to Prepare Your Child for Back to School Safety Against Covid-19

Although school authorities will do their best to ensure the students’ safety against diseases and Covid-19 infection, students will themselves have to take charge of their well-being too. This calls upon us as parents to prepare our children for back to school safety against diseases and Covid-19 infection. If we can prepare our kids in the best manner, they’ll safeguard themselves even if the preparations done by school authorities fall short in some way. So, dear moms, let’s discuss five simple ways to prepare your child for back to school safety against Covid-19 infection and other emerging diseases.

1. Play the masked superheroes game to help your child get comfortable with wearing a mask:

Most children find it a bit uncomfortable to wear a mask. As a result, they have a high tendency to remove it after some time of wearing. But, as we know, removing the mask in school can expose our child to the risk of catching the infection; we have to help somehow them get comfortable with wearing a mask. One of the most effective ways is to play the masked superheroes game. All the players have to wear a mask and carry on with their routine to play this game. The one who wears the mask for the longest time wins the game and gets a reward. Now, to make your child do his best to win the game, you can set a reward that allures him. His favorite chocolate, snacks, or something else he loves will serve the purpose. You should try to play this game with your child every day for at least a week before his school reopens for the best results. Moreover, the elders can try to make the child win the game as it will inspire him to win every time he plays the game, and slowly, he’ll get comfortable wearing a mask.

2. Help your child develop a habit of regular hand sanitization by playing the sanitizer superman game:

As we all know, regular hand sanitization is crucial for safety against Covid-19 infection and other diseases; we have to help our kids develop the habit of regularly sanitizing their hands. For this, we can play the sanitizer superman game with them. To play this game, you have to make your child the superman of the house whose duty will be to sanitize his hands after every hour and remind others to do the same. To make your child put in his best efforts while playing this game, you can set a reward for him if he performs his superman duty well for some fixed number of times, let us say 6. So, this is how you can help your child develop a habit of regularly sanitizing his hands.

3. Make your child memorize essential safety precautions and take regular quizzes to check how well he has learned:

To help your child protect himself from Covid-19 infection and other diseases, you’ll have to help him memorize the essential safety precautions he will have to take under different circumstances in school. Given below is a list of some of those safety precautions which you should try to make your child memorize by heart:

• Hand sanitization after using the washrooms
• Hand sanitization after touching frequently touched surfaces like doorknobs, switches, windows, etc.
• No sharing of lunch, water, or anything else with friends and classmates
• Hand sanitization before and after adjusting the face mask
• Hand sanitization before eating

These are just some examples of precautions that we should try to make our kids memorize. You can think of some more and add them to the list. Further, while helping your child remember these precautionary measures, you should try to help him understand their significance. This will help him apply the same logic to different situations he will face in school and take the required safety precautions.

Moreover, you can remind your child of all these safety precautions every day and then take a quiz sometime later to know what he has learned. To take the quiz, you can simply create different situations and ask your child what safety precautions will he take if faced with them. For example, one situation can be touching a classroom wall. Then, as your child responds, you can check if he can identify the different safety precautions he needs to take under respective circumstances. If yes, you can appreciate him for his smartness, and if no, you can lovingly help him learn the right course of action he has to take when faced with the individual situation. As you conduct such quizzes regularly, your child will gradually become able to self-identify the different precautions he will have to take under various circumstances.

4. Help your child inculcate a habit of maintaining a safe distance from others with daily practice:

Social distancing is another essential safety precaution that we need to protect against Covid-19 infection. As schools reopen, kids will meet their friends, and they’ll be highly likely to shake hands or hug each other and breach the norms of social distancing. But, as it is not safe to do so, we’ll have to help our kids understand the importance of social distancing and also prepare them to maintain a safe distance from others with daily practice. Now, you may ask, how can you make your child learn to practice social distancing? It is effortless; you can ask everyone in the house to stay at least 1 meter away from each other during a particular hour of the day. The one who forgets to do so will be given a dare to complete. By playing this game with your child every day, you can help him cultivate the habit of maintaining social distancing.

5. Encourage your child to become a superhero by reminding his friends to follow the essential safety precautions against Covid-19 infection:

As your child prepares to go back to school as educational institutions reopen, you can encourage him to become a superhero by reminding his friends to follow the essential safety precautions against Covid-19. By doing so, he’ll stay reminded continuously to take the necessary safety precautions.

With the reopening of educational institutions, we’ll have to prepare our kids to ensure their safety against Covid-19 infection and other diseases. The ways mentioned above will help you with the same. Now, wishing you all the Best, and may you all always stay protected!

About the author: Jessica Robinson is an epitome of creativity. She has dedicated her life to educational writing and works for ‘The Speaking Polymath’. She has been creating magic with her powerful words for over a decade