5 Ways To Teach Childern on Maintaining Social Distancing

With the world-wide spread of COVID-19, life as we know it has gotten disrupted and social distancing is the new normal. As the things are slowly going back to the regular grind and the schools are set to open, it is important that we ingrain the idea of social distancing into our children’s minds.Children aren’t only at risk from COVID-19 themselves, but they can also transmit the virus to parents, grandparents, and others who may have even greater risk for severe complications.

While avoiding large social gatherings with families and friends was an easier way to avoid the risks of contracting the disease, with attending the schools back in force, there is another aspect of social distancing which we need to acquaint them to. This is a bigger challenge since it involves limiting unnecessary contact with others and not avoiding it altogether.

Here are a couple of tips which may help you to get your children to adhere to the social distancing practices:

* Hygiene rules stays

Social distancing doesn’t mean that you go easy on the hygiene rules that have been prescribed. Encourage your child to wash hands properly and sneeze and cough into their elbow, even if it is due to the common cold. It is anyhow a good habit they can carry on with in the future to stay healthy and hygienic.

* Avoid touching others and random surfaces

It is near impossible to get children to stop touching their masks or their shoes and other random surfaces. Teach your children the importance of curbing the urge to touch everything in the line of sight. You can use reinforcement techniques to inculcate the behaviour for their own safety.

* Wash hands frequently and sanitize

Unlike at home, you can’t ensure to be present all the time to avert them from passing things around and touching multiple surfaces. While stopping them is not up to you, you can ensure that they sanitize their hands after touching other surfaces. Teach them while they are still at home to build it into a habit.

* Avoid sharing meals

Although getting your children to eat in seclusion while around their friends is a tough thing to do. However, it is important to maintain social distancing even during the meals. While eating healthy can help boost the immunity of your children, it is also important to ensure that your kids do not share meals with other kids at school.

* Try to keep the Covid-19 topic light

You have all the right to keep your children aware about the gravity of the disease, but while you make your point, you can definitely avoid the obvious mention of illness, death, etc. Do not make the conversation so heavy that the pandemic becomes the next monster under their bed. Instead, drive the conversation with the emphasis on the importance of maintaining hygiene and social distancing to avoid getting affected. Try to focus more on how everything can be made better by taking necessary precautions.