Some weeks after the Federal Government announced the resumption of graduating pupils effective August 4, 2020, some states have also started announcing resumption dates for their schools.

For instance, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said primary and secondary schools in the state would be allowed to reopen effective September 21, 2020.

Schools in the country were shut in March as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease.

But whether your children are heading back to class full-time or part-time, it is important to keep them as safe as possible, especially as the coronavirus pandemic lingers with no vaccine yet.

Although research indicated that children generally tended to experience milder symptoms associated with COVID-19 pandemic, the real risk lies in the fact that if a child contracts the virus, they can bring it home and spread it to others. When making the decision whether to send your kids back to school, experts advised to consider the following for the safety of the kids and their families.

 Consider plans of your kid’s school

“First of all, obviously, consider what the plans are for school and also what the level of disease is in your community and what your family vulnerabilities are,” a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security, Dr Jennifer Nuzzo, told WTOP.

Nuzzo said it was possible to make schools safe for kids but “it all depends on what’s happening in the surrounding community.”

She added, “If coronavirus cases are rising, it’s difficult to make teachers feel safe in returning school and it’s possible schools that reopen could be forced to close their doors again. “Making sure teachers feel safe is going to be paramount in making sure the return to school works for everyone.”

Do a wardrobe refresh for them

Kids are growing all the time and it’s not out of the realm of possibility to think that there are quite a few outfits in their closets that simply just don’t fit anymore. Hence, experts recommended cleaning out the kids’ closets right by getting rid of the old and bringing in the new.

A ton of old clothes that don’t fit aren’t going to do you or your child any favours, so get them out of the way before the first day of school rolls around.

Nothing screams “frustration” like having a pile of homework to do and nowhere suitable to do it all. No matter what grade your kid is in, set up space in the home (and get everything else cleaned up, too) with some major organisation.

Stock up on supplies and do some decluttering, Lifehacker suggested, so your kids could have distraction-free work zones that they can work at in peace once those first few waves of homework start piling up. And it doesn’t matter if it’s the first week, it’s going to start happening a lot sooner than you think.

Stock food to prepare for them

Unless you’re sending cash for your kid to eat at school every day or getting a free lunch, you’re going to want to pack a delicious meal for them to eat.

But what are you going to send with them? What if they decide their favourite snack is all of a sudden disgusting? Make a lunch chart, child dieticians suggested so the kids could see what’s on the menu. Help swap things out, and you’ll know exactly what to pack the next day without last-minute morning freakouts.

Ensure they get immunised before school resume.
By Jesusegun Alagbe