My Kids Are in Daycare. How Should That Affect My Family ’s Social Distancing Strategy?

Welcome to COVID Questions, TIME’s advice column. We’re trying to make living through the pandemic a little easier, with expert-backed answers to your toughest coronavirus-related dilemmas. While we can’t and don’t offer medical advice—those questions should go to your doctor—we hope this column will help you sort through this stressful and confusing time. Got a question? Write to us at covidquestions@time.com. Today, Mike from Wisconsin asks: “My wife and I have two kids, both in daycare full-time. Is it safe for kids who are in daycare/school together to get together outside of school? Inside? Without masks? What about the parents of those kids? We live in Wisconsin, so outside prolonged play time isn’t feasible during the winter. Our kids are under five, so both are unmasked inside with other kids per state policy. It seems that if kids are unmasked inside for hours on end in daycare, doing a few hours together on the weekend wouldn’t add any risk. It also seems logical the parents could also get together. What do you think?” Having a pod—a small group of people with whom you spend time inside—is appealing for obvious reasons, but it can be trickier to pull off than you might think. “Podding means different things to different people,” says Dr. Beth Thielen, a pediatric medicine and infectious disease physician at the University of Minnesota Medical School. It’s not uncommon to learn ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID Questions COVID-19 Source Type: news