Apprehensive about the face-off? This is what parents should do…

Schools in India are gradually opening up, post second wave of COVID, but many parents are apprehensive about sending their children. The decision saw mixed reactions due to the severity of what passed, fear of an impending third wave, and the safety of children. 

Although the Indian Government and respective State Governments have issued COVID-appropriate guidelines and SOPs to the schools for the safety of children, they’ve left the decision of sending their children to school on the parents. The schools will support the decision by provisioning both online and offline modes of education. This definitely gives us a ‘thinking gap,’ but ultimately, we all would want our kids to go back to school and be a part of the holistic development. 

Having said that, it wouldn’t be wise to throw caution to the wind. As imperative it is to reopen schools, so is the safety of our children. And as long as we ensure the latter, the former can probably happen seamlessly in the long term.

Considering the same and putting ourselves in the parents’ shoes, we have attempted to prepare a checklist that the parents might follow.

• Ensure that your child gets ready and takes a healthy breakfast.
• Ensure the child is carrying a water bottle and food from home.
• Ensure the child is wearing a mask and also carrying a spare one along.
• Ensure the child washes and sanitizes their hands before leaving.
• Ensure the child is carrying a handy bottle of sanitizer along.
• Ensure the child is carrying a handkerchief or small hand towel along and using it for drying hands and/or while sneezing.
• Guide the child to cover their mouths while sneezing.
• Explain the importance of wearing a mask, washing hands, using sanitizer, and maintaining physical distancing.
• Guide the child to not eat anything from outside the school and roadside vendors.
• Be watchful for any unusual symptom you may observe in your child and get it checked if required. You may also check your child’s temperature in this case. 
• Talk to your child and listen to their problems. Make them understand and adjust to the changes happening around them.

If there is something you think we might have missed here, then we’d love to hear it from you. Please fill our comments section with your thoughts, and we’ll include it as a part of the checklist.

Let’s work together for our kids to enjoy the schooling they deserve!

Avani Raj Arora