1/ Q: I live with a toddler. How can we all survive the #ToddlerLife this summer?
A: Pair the "live in the moment" attitude of Dory with the caution and planning of Marlin from Finding Nemo.
2/ Toddlers thrive on attention and routines. Unfortunately, #COVID19 has added more to the plates of adults while altering most daily routines. You can and will get through this! Here are a few suggestions inspired by your questions:
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🦺 Safety First. Do your best to secure the basics first – food, shelter, supervision. If you have these bases covered, GREAT! Think about how you might help secure these essentials for others and act.
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👀 Supervision. This is a tough one: toddlers have endless energy! Engagement with toddlers goes a long way in directing that energy towards positive outlets. This will be difficult to accomplish alone: explore daycares or informal care networks (more in article below).
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🧠 Mental Health. Check in with your own mental health and the mental health of your toddler. Some adults may love the extra snuggles while others desperately need a break. Some kids may be thriving in quarantine while others may struggle significantly.
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🦠 Infection Risk. As we have said before, small kids are (adorably) gross and incapable of #SocialDistancing. While children rarely develop severe #COVID infection, they are capable of spreading infection across adults...
7/ Small, stable care teams reduce the risk of transmission and increase the capacity to manage infection quickly should a member of the group become ill. Open spaces with regularly cleaned fomites (toys and shared surfaces) further decrease the risk of transmission. #StaySMART.
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📆Timing. Plan for the longest stretch of time that is realistic. If an opportunity for a safe and reliable routine presents itself, go for it. If not, do the best you can in the moment. Your hugs, face time, and conversation are SO essential to early child development.
9/ When it feels like you accomplished nothing, just remember that being present in the moment with your toddler is everything.
1/ Q: Has almost everyone been infected with COVID by now?
A: Recent estimates suggest around 58% of the population in the US and over 70% in England have been previously infected, with BIG increases during the Omicron wave.
3/ ➡️ During the Omicron wave from December 2021-February 2022, this estimate increased from 33% to 58%.
➡️ Rates vary a lot by age, ranging from 33.2% for those over age 65 to 75% for those under age 18.
2/ Not likely. If your kids are suddenly getting sick a lot, this is likely due to “catching up” on exposures rather than a weakened immune system.
3/ Many families w/ young kids have been hunkered down for the better part of 2 years– a good % of a young child’s entire life. While isolation had *many* downsides, we can agree that not having to suction snot out of infant noses or clean up norovirus puke was a happy upside.
1/ Q: Are cases peaking? That means it’s all downhill from here, right?
A: Sort of…. Remember that even if cases come down as quickly as they rise, there will be as many cases *after* the peak as before (think area under the curve).
2/ ➡️ And if the downward slope is *slower* than the rise, we will see *more* cases during the decline from a surge.
3/ Burning fast could be a silver lining of super transmissible #Omicron. Cases rose & fell quickly in S. Africa (w/ hospitalizations & deaths still lagging). The UK appears to have turned the Omicron corner. Many US states appear past their peak in cases, w/ regional variation:
Unfortunately, this includes New Year’s Eve plans. The perfect storm of a new variant & holiday get-togethers is hitting communities & health care w/ FORCE! Testing is in short supply.
3/ Health care is under extreme pressure with surging cases. If you can avoid even one additional contact, you are helping. This is a temporary and urgent request (from a health care provider).