“Hands by your side, don’t touch anything!”
I had a conversation recently about how to best manage our new normal in a world still plagued by COVID-19. To date, we do not have a cure or vaccine. Even without effective therapies, treatments, and vaccines many state and cities are slowly reopening, and people are desperate to get back to living life to some degree.
I can honestly relate, it has been a hard 3 months (almost) managing kids, working from home, and not being able to venture out. Our family is very active, we love to travel, and we enjoy our weekend adventures! We’ve recently decided to slowly venture out with the kids so they can experience a change of scenery.
Here are seven precautions we take when we leave the house with our kids:
- Backpack ready: I pack antibacterial wipes, antibacterial hand wipes, hand sanitizer, a water bottle, and extra face coverings.
- Potty Time: Right before we head out the door, I make sure everyone uses the bathroom. We still avoid taking our kids into places such as grocery stores, etc. so bathroom stops are avoided.
- Face coverings: Unless we are outdoors in a secluded area, face mask are required. We worked with our kids at home on how to properly wear and remove face mask.
- “Hands by your side, don’t touch anything”! I had to take the girls into a restaurant one time to pick up food. Before we got inside, I made sure they understood this precaution.
- Social distancing: With more families starting to safely venture out of their homes, I ensure my kids understand the importance of social distancing. Show your kids what 6 feet apart looks like by demonstrating distance from all sides. Pull out the measuring tape and help them gauge appropriate distance.
- Clean Hands: We always thoroughly sanitize our hand before getting back into the car and after touching any objects.
- Clean Bodies: After arriving home shoes are placed in the mud room so I can sanitize them and we either shower immediately or thoroughly wash all exposed skin and change our clothes.
Additionally, we opt for the following experiences:
- Open Areas such as parks (no playgrounds yet), Nature Reserves, Botanical gardens, National Parks, etc.
- Scenic drives
- Outdoor activities with smaller crowds that support social distancing
- Outdoor distance play with friends (get creative and still have fun with relay races, hopscotch, water fights, etc.)
What are some other ideas on how to reintroduce children to being out and about?
Disclaimer: Please take the necessary precautions that will work best for you and your family. We all have different comfort levels and considerations. This is my experience and how we manage venturing out with our kiddos. Always follow medical, CDC, state and local orders.
BE SAFE EVERYONE!
I can’t imagine having to go through all of this with young kids. Thankfully my kids are older not at the touch everything stage. So hard for little guys to understand why they can’t play at the park or go to a friend’s house
I agree that its been hard but we have adapted to the changes pretty good. With me being pregnant we have been extra cautious of everything. I don’t go into stores anymore, we spend lots of time in our back or front yard & we take scenic drives on the weekend.
We haven’t taken our daughter out in public. We just let her play in our yard. She’s 3 and probably wouldn’t like wearing a mask.
I’m so glad you are taking precautions. I’ve seen so many people out who don’t seem to care.
We’ve also started taking our little boy out again and eventhough he only 2 we tried explaining the situation to him as best we could. Things are not that bad and with the necessary precautions everything will be fine.
My daughter left the house for the first time. We got pedicures together so she had to wear a mask. She handled it well. I also brought hand sanitizer.
Awesome tips. I will apply these when we do start to venture out.
What a crazy time.. these are great tips. I find myself having a “survival bag” so that I don’t end up out and about without a mask, sanitizer, etc.
Thank you for sharing these tips! These precautions are definitely helpful and important nowadays. We just need to be really careful and observe all the health protocols advised such as social distancing, wearing of masks, etc.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched services is something that we do at home all the time
It’s definitely been a crazy time. It’s been a challenge to example everything that’s going on especially to young kids. We’ve been very cautious and been following all these steps carefully. Thanks for sharing.
It’s a scary time for sure. We have been doing a lot of scenic drives and open air playing too.