Marissa Joyce - March 2021
ME TO MY KIDS: “Guess what guys? Mommy is getting her COVID Vaccine today! KIDS: “Oh no mommy! I am so sorry!”… “I wish you didn’t have to get a shot!”… “You don’t have to get it if you don’t want to, DON’T GET A SHOT MOMMY!”… “I never want the COVID Shot. I hate shots.”
Is this a likely conversation in your home? We have spent the past year telling our children to be safe, be physically distant, be careful, be clean. Now, as Coronavirus Vaccines become more widely available, the world is about to begin opening back up. How to do we explain safety and caution in a world where the rules are constantly changing?
Parenting is confusing. Oftentimes it feels like running on a treadmill. It’s hard and sweaty, and at the end of the day, you wonder if you ever actually got anywhere. As we help our children understand and navigate these times, it’s important to help them feel safe, and also to instill values that we hope they will embrace. Values like making small sacrifices for the good of others. Of taking care of their bodies and their communities. Of thinking through choices and trusting the adults and other influential people who tell them how to live their lives.
The first step towards explaining our changing world to our children is to point them towards science. We have spent a year learning about what a virus is and ways to stop the spread. Now is a great time to begin talking about what a vaccine is, and how it can work. Local author Andrea Cudd Alemanni joins her passion for science with her ability to inspire curiosity in children in her newest book, Ava Antibody Explains. This children’s picture book does a great job of explaining the science of our bodies’ immune systems in ways that young ones can understand. It is a great resource for families and schools alike to begin to help their children learn how to navigate the changing world of this pandemic.
Masks for Love seeks to help our clients and neighbors spread LOVE and not fear, which is why we are excited to endorse this resource! Staring conversations now about the vaccine, and what the world may look like as things open back up is a great idea. Children are looking to US for guidance, whether or not we feel prepared! Let’s educate ourselves and then share that knowledge freely with others!
Have YOU gotten your vaccine yet? How are you feeling about the new corner we seem to be turning in the global pandemic? Get your mask showing you got your Fauci Ouchie at MasksforLove!
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