From Ms. MacDonald
Hello Northwood Families,
As we near the end of the school year, and our state starts to slowly re-open, I wanted to share some information with you to support your children. We are all adjusting to the new “normal” of being out in public. Many children have not been out in public yet and there are a few things that might make them feel uncomfortable. For example, people wearing masks, plastic shields between you and someone working, not being able to shake hands or hug when you see someone you know. To help children understand these changes and decrease the potential for fear and worry, it is important to have a conversation with your children. Especially for the younger kids, short, brief statements are best. Allow children time to ask questions. If you don’t have the answers, it’s ok to tell them that; let them know that we have experts who are making decisions based on facts and they will share that information with us as soon as they can.
Before you go to a store or public place, these are a few things to talk about:
- Explain we all get our hands dirty at times, and we might have germs on our hands. We wash our hands a lot and we use hand sanitizer to try to not spread those germs.
- People will be wearing masks to keep us all protected from spreading our germs. (If you have a mask, let your children put it on, or let them put it on a stuffed animal)
- We aren’t hugging or shaking hands with people we know because we don’t want to spread any germs that might be on our hands. Saying, “Hi” or waving is the way to greet someone.
- Doing all of these things will help us keep each other healthy.
If your child says he/she is scared or worried, it is important to acknowledge that fear and talk about it. Sometimes adults will tell kids, “There’s nothing to worry about.” Saying that won’t make those feelings go away. Remind your child the best way to address worried or scared feelings is to talk about them. Some children have a hard time expressing their feelings. An easy alternative is to offer for them to journal about their feelings, and share it when they are ready too. For younger kids, have them draw pictures. Typically once children start writing or drawing, they will begin to talk about their feelings without even knowing it.
I hope you all have an enjoyable summer!
Lynda MacDonald
School Counselor