Dilemma – Keeping Kids A Social Distance Apart While Off School
With schools closed down for weeks, casinos closed, sports cancelled all together, and now some businesses closed, the context of the entire situation is becoming more evident to the non believers.
This all sounds extreme because it very much is. The government and medical professionals are trying to create distance between family units and between individuals. It may be difficult for families with small children, families with teens, kids with differential abilities or challenges, and for kids who simply love to play with their friends. However if you choose only one friend to have over, you have created new possibilities for the type of transmission that all of our school/work/public event closures are trying to prevent, Ariadne Labs said. The symptoms of coronavirus take four to five days to manifest themselves. Someone who comes over looking well can transmit the virus and it continues. Sharing food is particularly risky, Assaf Bitton MD said he definitely does not recommend that people do so outside of their family.
We have already taken extreme social measures to address this serious disease — let’s not actively co-opt our efforts by having high levels of social interaction at people’s houses instead of at schools or workplaces. Again — the wisdom of early and aggressive social distancing is that it can flatten the curve above, give our health system a chance to not be overwhelmed, and eventually may reduce the length and need for longer periods of extreme social distancing later (see what has transpired in Italy and Wuhan). We need to all do our part during these times, even if it means some discomfort for a while. With only 121 people being tested thus far in Indiana the actual number of cases around is believed by the Health Department to be in the tens of thousands.
This may be all hard for teens to understand that are feeling well and just want to enjoy spring and the time off school but us as parents must stick to our guns and best judgment in these scary times for the sake of people who may not be able to survive this virus. There will be tears and anger but in the end of all this the goal is to stop the rise and spread before it’s to late like other countries we have seen in previous weeks that were unsuccessful.
One thing to avoid even though spring air is coming in is playgrounds experts say. In the right conditions the virus could live on equipment for up to a week and equipment is not regularly cleaned. In a time of technology, internet, video chats, and home movies streamed there are so many alternatives to be utilized during this national crises. Other alternatives also include board games, nature walks, running, learn new recipes, make art, read, and of course the video games which keep a lot of kids busier then ever.
