Back-to-School Season 2022: Prepping Your Kids for Safety

Sending the kids back to school may seem challenging for many parents this fall. The last two years have seen a constantly shifting landscape with various unknowns. It’s hard to say exactly what “getting back to normal” will look like, but you can still set yourself — and your kids — up for success.

Vaccination is the best way to keep students, educators, families and the community safer.

In the United States, the Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control have tools to help, and in the United Kingdom, there is a “Living with Covid: Back to School” set of resources. Here NSF offers some essential tips for back-to-school prep, no matter where you live or what lies ahead:

Take a Shot at It
Vaccination is the best way to keep students, educators, families and the community safer. It’s the leading public health strategy to prevent diseases and viruses and the surest method to help your community remain in school in person. If your children are eligible and you haven’t yet had them vaccinated, now is a good time to look into getting it done.
Be a Hall Monitor
We don’t know the status of COVID-19 spikes and new variants, nor can we predict the future. So the best way to protect your students is to monitor your local state and community resources. Regulatory agencies are encouraging schools and parents to consider levels of community transmission as they continue to assess risks.
Ask Questions
Parents have the right to ask the administrators of a public or private school if they and their staff have been vaccinated and about their health and safety protocols. This also applies to after-school activities and recreation.
Talk It Out
Ask your children how they’re feeling about going to school, and address their concerns without passing on any of your anxiety. Some people are still masking, and that’s okay for anyone to do at any time.
Scrub Up
As you’re getting your kids ready to go back to school this fall, it’s the perfect time to review proper handwashing, Scrub Club^® style. Handwashing is the most effective approach to keep kids from getting sick and spreading germs. And when water and soap are nowhere to be found, they can pull out the hand sanitizer from their backpacks.
Pay Attention to Protocols
Different schools have different rules. We encourage you to follow your children’s schools’ health and safety rules and regulations.