coronavirus - Parenting Healthy

5 Books that Will Help Your Child Transition Back to In-School Learning

If you have school-aged children they have had the longest break from the school building ever and learning for them drastically changed suddenly last spring. I know some school remained in-person, but here in Was. state and other areas schools have yet to open since March.

Kindergarteners as a virtual learner are heading to a classroom soon for the first time ever or as a secondary student trying to keep grades afloat in a change into independent learning before they were ready, going back will be an adjustment.

I found some books to help your child transition back to in-school learning. You will want to start reading now to open the discussion about going back, schedule changes and socializing again on the playground with new classmates. These books are great for older siblings to read to younger siblings so all ages are discussing the changes together.

Change is impossible to avoid because it happens ALL the time! In this book, the author speaks on how to cope with and embrace life’s changes by recounting personal stories and asking kids pointed questions.

One of my FAVORITE children’s book Authors’ write for A Kids Book About. If you have not seen these books I highly recommend all of their titles on many common and new topics for kids. For heading back into the classroom I recommend A Kids Book About Change. Buy on Amazon

*An Invisible String made of love. Even though you can’t see it with your eyes, you can feel it deep in your heart, and know that you are always connected to the ones you love.* Does everybody have an Invisible String?

This book is so fantastic! The Invisible String is most popularly known as a best book for loss and grief, it is a great book to have on hand if an unexpected loss does occur in your family. However, it also is a great read for separation anxiety as it touches on the same need to feel connection when apart no matter how ‘apart’ they are. This is great for the child heading off to school for the very first time. Buy on Amazon.

The story is about Kate, a sporty and happy girl who uses her strong mind to tackle her daily challenges with a positive attitude.

My Strong Mind: A Story About Developing Mental Strength is a great book for so many situations to have on hand. For back to school, your child will be eager to start the new change off with a more positive mindset. When anxieties and worries start it’s time to use that brain power to work through change and new situations. Buy on Amazon.

Children love being able to make all the choices for this Superhero-in-Training and control the outcome of the book, while parents and teachers love the lessons the book teaches!

What Should Danny Do? School Day (The Power to Choose Series) brings problems forward. This is a fun read for kids that may have had to be out of structure as they have juggled at-home learning, working parents, siblings home all day. Now your child has to head back to class, sit still, make smart decisions around new kids and Teachers. This book is 7 stories in one and a great conversation book where your child and you can discuss ways Danny’s day should end given his situations he finds himself in. Buy on Amazon.

More and more places are requiring they or the adults around them wear masks, including their schools and pre-schools. This book adds some silliness and laughs around mask wearing to help young children see masks as something funny and not scary.

Many children have not been out and about as much or everyday and going back for many kids will still be while masked. If you have avoided public due to mask wearing anxiety with your child and now they may have to wear one back to school for a bit, this book is a must! Remember to Smile is a silly book that also introduces your child to many heroes and people that have to wear masks in their jobs and other situations making it less scary! Buy on Amazon.

Coronovirus 2020, Healthy Living, Home

Elyptol Natural Cleaning Wipes are a safe and effective way to clean

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 Erin Sluka

Never has there been a better time for Target to begin carrying such a necessity – Elyptol Natural Cleaning Wipes! In these COVID times a hand sanitizer lingering in the bottom of your purse or car console is not enough germ protection. This year will go down in history books beside other health crisis of the past and we have such great retail access to products that can literally become barriers.

When I clean surfaces I use sanitizing wipes + Sanitizing spray after I wipe down. I double-protect all touch surfaces often in my home. I still work at the school only partially open and my husband is in retail management so we leave the house to come home daily and making sure we clean often is very important.

These Elyptol Natural Cleaning Wipes are made for hard surfaces and are created with only 3 ingredients – Eucalyptol, Natural Ethonol (alcohol) and water. Safe your surfaces, your skin and the environment.

Use these wipes to clean stoves, toilets, countertops, desks, and bathtubs without leaving a streak on surfaces or residue on hands. They are made of soft non-woven cloth and infused with eucalyptus essential oil. Enhanced by the healing properties of eucalyptus oil combined with naturally sourced pure ethanol, Elyptol wipes are safe and gentle for all ages and skin types.

Available now at Target.com! Stock up now!

Coronovirus 2020, Healthy Living, Parenting

Protect Your Pregnancy During the COVID-19 Pandemic With These 5 Tips

July 13, 2020July 8, 2020 Erin Sluka

There are so many unknowns about our health with this new virus. We hope masks work well enough and we distance as we wait to learn how airborne COVID-19 is. We are told to not touch our faces and sanitize but now we are told there are toxic sanitizers being sold.

I am just a Mom with a tween and 2 older boys trying to navigate through this, but I couldn’t imagine the extra element needing to protect your pregnancy or having a newborn on top of it all.

I have been searching to bring my readers tips and education with COVID-19 and these tips are for the Pregnant Mamas out there. Being prepared with the right tools and taking comfort in knowing that these tips are from a health expert may help you take all the necessary precautions to make it safely through your pregnancy during this virus.

Protect Your Pregnancy With These 5 Tips

Get a pulse oximeter: Hypoxemia (a below-normal level of oxygen in your blood) is one of the signs of serious illness with COVID-19. You can pick up a pulse oximeter for around $50 and take regular readings of your pulse and oxygen saturation. Get a baseline so that you know if something looks off. A baseline for healthy people is 90 or higher. When we see below 90, we start getting concerned.
Check for fever: Whether you have a fancy new thermometer that reads from the forehead or an old-school glass one where the mercury rises, take your temperature regularly to make sure you aren’t experiencing a fever.
Keep surfaces tidy for easy cleaning: Keeping tidy may not seem like a health tip for pregnancy, but in the days of COVID-19 it absolutely is. You want the surfaces in your home to be able to easily be wiped down and disinfected, frequently — at least once a day.
If you choose to travel, choose safely: For example, to further protect your pregnancy you might choose to visit a loved one in a remote rural town with few to no COVID-19 cases, but don’t travel somewhere that you’ll be interacting with a lot of people.
Keep your distance: How close is too close? Can you smell the other person’s detergent, deodorant, or shampoo? That’s too close!And for some extra protection when you are going to be around other people, wear a mask. It’s an additional safety measure that can only help you and your baby.

Here are some specific questions to ask your doctor if you are pregnant NOW, during the coronavirus outbreak:

Have you already been exposed? You have the right to know whether or not your doctor has already been exposed to COVID-19 or not, and what the implications are either way. Have they been tested recently? When was the last negative test? Don’t hesitate to gather information to put yourself more at ease.
What will happen if I’m positive for COVID-19 when I deliver? Make a plan with your doctor so that you have one less thing to stress about if this occurs. As much as you don’t want your baby whisked away after birth, the plan to protect and test your new baby for the illness will include isolating you from her/him initially after birth.
Will my baby be immune if I have/had COVID-19? One Chinese case study found that a mother who had COVID-19 and delivered her baby via C-section passed immunity onto her baby but not the illness. Other studies, however, have shown cases of mothers passing the virus on to their babies.
Will you be the one delivering my baby? Often, the O.B. you’re working with may not actually be the one to deliver your baby. Asking this question now gives you an opportunity to understand who will be there during delivery, and who else you need to talk to about their COVID-19 exposure and testing.
Will I be allowed to have my support team in the birthing room with me? If you want your partner and/or a doula in the birthing room with you, this is a very important question to ask your doctor. The rules as we navigate the pandemic are constantly changing and under evaluation, so ask now, and ask again as birth gets closer.

These tips and questions to protect your pregnancy are provided by maternal health expert “Rural Doc” Alan Lindemann, M.D., former winner of the Rural Health Care Provider of the Year award and co-author of “Modern Medicine: What You’re Dying to Know.”

Children's Books, Coronovirus 2020, Kids, Parenting

Anna and the Germ – Children’s Book About the Coronavirus Pandemic

May 2, 2020June 5, 2020 Erin Sluka

If there was ever a book to tell kids the changes and emotions around this virus, Anna and the Germ that Came to Visit is it. We are all dealing with the confusion, fear, sadness, boredom, and loneliness right now, especially our kids. This book talks about those emotions and how to talk to and help our kids through this at that point where boredom and sadness hit.

Anna and the Germ that Came to Visit is written by Mother and Daughter, Christianne Klein and Helene Van Sant-Klein. They have come together as Emmy-winning Journalist and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (to name a few of their titles) to tackle this heavy topic for you and your children with this book about the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Make sure you take advantage of the free resources to help children through the crisis are available in a kid-friendly format on the website, TheGermBook.com – including coloring pages to allow children to draw out their feelings, and a song inspired by the book (you can even wash your hands to the shortened 20 second version)!

Buy the book on Amazon!