The school year is officially starting up again, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preparing your child for school could look a little bit different. Because the Delta variant is circulating and highly contagious, the Center For Disease Control and Prevention recommends indoor masking for all students ages 2 years and older, staff, teachers, and visitors, no matter their vaccination status. This means that extra precautionary measures will be taken to prevent the spread of the virus. Here, our team has compiled a list of safety tips to keep your child safe during this school year season. 

School Bus Safety

If your child is required to ride on a school bus, it is important to teach them how to stay safe and prevent personal injury as well as the spread of COVID-19. 

  • Make sure your child stays out of the street while waiting for the bus.
  • Arrive at the bus stop at least five minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive.
  • Make sure the bus comes to a complete stop before allowing your child to get on or off. 
  • Teach your child to maintain good hygiene when on the bus by wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer, and social distancing as much as possible.

If the school hasn’t already, suggest limiting the number of children allowed on a bus at a time. The CDC recommends limiting bus occupancy to one child per row to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. 

Wear a Mask

According to the FDA, masks are proven to help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to other people. If worn correctly, face masks can reduce the spread of the virus. Schools across the country have put in place mask mandates for children when at school. According to the California Department of Public Health, students K-12 are required to wear masks indoors. Masks, however, are optional in outdoor school settings. Due to children being too young to get vaccinated against the virus, local mask mandates are being put in place across the country to protect students. It is important to teach your child the proper way to wear a mask in school to keep them and other children safe.

Wash Your Hands

We all know to wash our hands for at least 20 seconds, but do your children know? It is important to teach your children the basic way to wash their hands, so when they are in school, they know that hand washing is important. 

Make sure your kids know when to wash their hands. kids to wash their hands

  • Before eating
  • After using the restroom
  • After touching animals or pets
  • After leaving a public place

If soap isn’t always available, pack your kids a hand sanitizer that contains at least 0% alcohol. 

Monitor Symptoms of COVID-19

As a parent, make sure you are alert for symptoms of COVID-19. With children going to and from school, the virus could easily spread from one child to another if necessary precautions aren’t in place. Make sure to watch for a fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms. If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, do not send your child to school. If you have the virus it is likely that your child does too.

Keep Your Children Safe

The school year looks a little bit different with students having to adjust to a new schedule in compliance with local and federal guidelines. Keeping students safe at school is most parents’ number one priority, so make sure to follow these safety tips to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 to promote a safe and healthy school year.