2020 Hometown Heroes

2020 Hometown HEROES Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS May 14, 2020 Page 67 COMMUNITY: WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER! Explaining the pandemic and shelter-in-place to younger children E xplaining to younger kids why they cannot just go out and play with their friends during these shelter-in-place orders can be challenging. Though it might be hard to explain everything, it is good to make them understand the need for being cautious. Jodie Merritt is mom to two girls, ages three and five, who were previously involved in many activities. Merritt said, “When everything started closing - school, play group, tumbling and all of our favorite things, they were devastated.” To help them understand why places were closing, Merritt said, “I happened to have a piece of paper in my hand, so my husband had us all pass it around the room. He explained that we pass germs the same way we passed around that piece of paper, plus we don’t know for sure where it was before I had it.” As Merritt said, “It was important to us for them to understand that we were staying home because we didn’t want people to get sick. We have to look out for our neighbors.” Since Merritt and her husband often talk to the children about being good neighbors, she said thankfully that made sense to them. Merritt said, “If they want to go somewhere and we have to say no, they understand it’s because of - from the words of my three-year-old - ‘the yickness’.” Having been quarantined for two weeks, Merritt said the family has a flexible routine and not a strict schedule. After a slow start in the mornings with cartoons and tablet time, Merritt said they usually do either Cosmic Kids Yoga or Go Noodle, which can be found on any streaming device. To help maintain some sense of normalcy, Merritt said, “We get dressed so it feels like an actual start to a day.” The family moves through different activities each day including family devotional, exercise, snack time, craft time, and lunch time. While Merritt works, the girls entertain themselves with educational apps, quiet time in their own spaces and chilling out for at least 30 minutes. Other activities include puzzles, workbooks or schoolwork, stories, music, clean up and free play. CONTINUED u