Teaching the Importance of Social Distancing to Children

posted on Jun 08, 2020

It’s been months since the deadly pandemic entered our lives and turned everything upside down. And, even though we are gradually moving towards easing the lockdown restrictions across the nation now, we are completely aware that the threat still looms large. This is also the reason why it has become more important than ever to get our children aware about the importance of social distancing in keeping themselves safe.

For so many months, we had mostly kept our children inside the house, and though they had an idea about what social distancing entails, they never really had to pay much attention to it. However, as the restrictions are getting eased down, it’s time we teach our children to take social distancing seriously. With that being said, here are a few things that we, at Gurukul The School, would like to share with you all about how to go about teaching the importance of social distancing to children.

Talking to the younger kids about social distancing

First and foremost, your explanations to children about the significance of social distancing have to be age-appropriate so that they can truly understand the gravity of the situation.

For the younger kids, it is best to teach them through stories and examples of how staying inside and maintaining distance is of utmost importance in the present situation. The aim should be to inform them while making sure that it does not make them anxious and worried.

Getting the older kids informed about the facts and figures

For the older kids, you can resort to facts and figures to give them an idea of the real-world scenario and how it calls for social distancing. You can start by explaining to them about flattening the curve, and the role played by social distancing in it.

You will find plenty of resources online that will help you explain it to your children. However, even in this case, you will have to keep in mind that your discussions have to be impactful but not frightening for the kids.

Emphasize the positive effects of social distancing

There are a number of countries that have eliminated the threat of the virus successfully within its borders. One of the most common steps that all of these countries and their citizens had taken was to implement social distancing measures early on and follow them diligently.

Their timely steps have led them towards being free from the fatal virus, which is a lesson that we can all learn from them, including our children. So, emphasize on these positive effects of social distancing, and surely, our children will understand its importance better.

Inform them about the various measures that must be taken

Ideally, it is not just enough to make the kids understand the significance of social distancing, because it’s equally crucial to instruct them about the other measures as well that they must take. 

Thus, our children also need to know that they must stay three to six feet away from anyone outside their family, and never share personal belongings with anyone outside their home. We need to inform them that social distancing is for everyone and not just for people showing symptoms of the infection.

We, at Gurukul the School, ranked among the top 10 schools in Ghaziabad, understand how hard it is for children to stay at home all day, far from their friends and playmates. And, we also know that parents are surely trying their best to keep the kids happy and engaged during this long period. Though the uncertainty still reigns regarding the whole situation, the only thing we can do right now is to hold on tight and hope and pray that our lives get back to normal soon.