The week's best parenting advice: July 14, 2020

Caring for kids with COVID, how to reopen schools, and more

A mother and child.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

1. How to care for a child who has COVID-19

While the science seems to suggest that most kids who get COVID-19 have mild symptoms, they can still spread the virus to others. How can families care for their sick kids without contracting the virus themselves? Older kids — teens and tweens — with symptoms should stay in a part of the house that's away from the rest of the family, and only one parent should be their designated caretaker, Kristin Moffitt, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at Boston Children's Hospital, tells The Washington Post. Keep your distance, wear a mask, and disinfect often. With younger kids, parents will need to get creative. If co-sleeping is unavoidable, Moffitt suggests sleeping head-to-toe and opening the bedroom windows, because "good ventilation is key." And try to find ways to interact while maintaining distance, perhaps by "reading a book or telling stories from across the room, playing a game that does not require proximity, such as Pictionary or I Spy, or watching a movie."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jessica Hullinger

Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.