As coronavirus continues to flood our headlines, what if’s and plan b’s are starting to be discussed. As a working parent, the idea of school closures will probably have you thinking “what do I do now?” We have compiled a few steps you can take to ensure you and your family are prepared if closures were to go ahead. By implementing these steps as soon as you can, you will be able to take potential disruptions and closures in your stride. Preparation is key in this environment to ensure you and your family are able to keep a level head. These steps will help ensure your work understands what to expect of you during this time, ways you are able to entertain your kids without them being stuck on a tablet and have a teachable moment with your kids about the importance of working together in these sorts of situations.
Little Ones is here to help get you started.
If working from home hasn’t been suggested as a solution, start the conversation with your manager. Even if this has already been discussed, as a working parent it is important to communicate the stresses you face working from home with your children as your new colleagues. It will benefit you, your work, and your children if you take time to consider how you might approach this conversation, understanding that you and your manager are both facing difficult, unexpected, and potentially uncharted choices. Prepare different scenarios that could occur and run through solutions each of you could take. Be clear that this discussion is to ensure everyone involved is prepared for what these closures could bring and is on the same page.
The joy that is the digital age we are now living in is that while we may all soon be quarantined at home, meetings can be done over skype and emails and calls continue communication without face to face interaction. With this in mind, it may also be a good idea to have another look at your broadband provider. With children at home, there will most likely be an increase of devices in use at the same time. If you do not have enough devices at home for everyone to use one at the same time, it is important to remember you are all in this together, work together to find a compromise and ensure that everyone is happy.
These school closures will not be like other occasions such as snow days, children will not be encouraged to get together and entertain each other. If your children are sent home, spending the entire time on a tablet is not really ideal, however limited tablet time may need to be relaxed. Social media is filled with easy and fun arts and crafts videos your children could try, board games and card games are a great way to spend a few hours together inside. Alternatively, reading is always a great option. If you have a digital reading device the internet is your library. Share your ideas around with other parents, while they may not be completely in the same boat as you, they will still have bored children at home getting restless and will appreciate the thought.
While closures will cause disruption across the board, it is important to keep the bigger picture in mind. Children seem to be less at risk if they have contracted coronavirus but they will be carriers to those who are more vulnerable. This is why the closures will be put in place, to help prevent the spread of the disease to those who will be more severely affected, this can include grandparents, elderly neighbours or friends who have health conditions. This is why keeping the bigger picture in mind is important when tensions flare and stress is running high. Together as a family and as a society, we will get through this by keeping a level head and taking the necessary precautions. Coronavirus demonstrates the importance of helping others and how by helping others you are also helping yourself, looking out for people in need and how small actions, such as washing your hands and coughing or sneezing into a tissue or elbow, lead to a greater result for all.
The potential closure of school and nurseries leaves few childcare alternatives, especially considering it is uncertain how long the closures could last. While the saying “it takes a village” could be appropriate for handling childcare in this situation, we understand that you may not feel comfortable or even able to pull on family and friends to assist you. This is why we believe that the best childcare option for you, if you are unable to work from home, would be either a temporary nanny or a nanny share.
Coronaviruses are a common type of virus. They typically cause fever and a cough, which may progress to more severe pneumonia, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties in some people. Covid-19 is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China. The current evidence is that most cases appear to be mild similar to that of a cold or flu and most of those who have died in Wuhan appear to have had pre-existing health conditions. Little is known about this new strain of the virus due to it being so new so it is not clear how it is spread, however, similar viruses tend to be spread by coughs and sneezes – so the way the infection gains entry to the body is the same as the way it exits and spreads to others.
It is also possible that the virus may be spread by touching a surface or object that has been coughed or sneezed on by someone with the virus – such as by touching a doorknob or shaking hands with someone and then touching your face. There is currently no specific cure for the new coronavirus so treatment is aimed at relieving the symptoms.
Although the Department for Health has described the virus as a "serious and imminent threat" and raised the public risk level from "low" to "moderate", the risk to individuals remains low.
It is also important to remember that while people of all ages can test positive for coronavirus, older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease) are more likely to become severely ill with the virus and are most at risk. The symptoms of Covid-19 are similar to those of the common cold and the flu. The three main symptoms of coronavirus are a cough, a high temperature and shortness of breath.
Good personal hygiene is the most effective way to limit the spread of Covid-19. Below are a few everyday precautions you and your children can adopt to best avoid the contraction and spread of the disease.
If you think you might have coronavirus or you have been in close contact with someone who has it, stay at home and avoid close contact with other people, do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital at the risk of spreading the disease and use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do next. The 111 coronavirus service will tell you if you need to continue to stay at home or if you need medical help. It is important that you and your family take all the necessary precautions you can to ensure the safety of your loved ones and well as preventing the spread of Covid-19.
