Lead with Facts. Not Fear.
This is certainly an interesting time in our world. Hearing the words pandemic can be wildly concerning, but by definition a pandemic is, “a disease spread prevalent over a whole country or world.” And yes, that’s what is happening.
What concerns me is the amount of misinformation being fired into conversations overheard by little ears. Let’s be mindful of what we hear, share the facts, and follow guidelines. If everyone continues to live out of fear, assumptions, and creating their own rules, we won’t have the evidence to show if this model of quarantine will work for future viruses. Call me crazy, but I like to focus on facts over fear.
This is a time to be prepared and alert. It is not a time to go into utter panic and disarray. Lead by example. I’ve chosen to be very transparent with my kids. I ask if they’d like the updates and if they say yes, I share the facts that they may need to know. They may be superficial facts, but they are now armed with information so they have confidence when walking into conversations of misinformation.
Examples: they have heard that people died in one of their neighboring schools which is why it closed {false}. They’ve heard they won’t get to play outside for a month {oy vey}. And there was a conversation among kids that they heard they’d all take their state test with masks on {enter my most aggressive eye-roll}.
Facts over fear. Know your kids and know what information they can understand and feel comfortable sharing it. Keeping ourselves and kids in the dark over a very real experience is only creating more chaos and uncertainty.
While some are anxiously hopeful that their work or school closes, others are in fear of where they will get their income or meals if forced to stay home.
While telling kids to wash their hands is good, refusing to let them sit with their peers when they cough is only inciting more fear, anxiety, and paranoia.
The difference between an expert and a spectator is that experts aren’t on social media arguing over tweets. They are researching and sharing sound information and advice. Listen to the experts. As much as your neighbor may usually be in the loop, they may not have all the facts from within the scientific community. Be smart.
And wash your hands.
Big virtual hugs.
