As kids go back to school, it is crucial to prepare them for a different looking school environment.  

ISU Extension Human Sciences and Family Life Specialist MacKenzine DeJong offers advice to parents to help prepare their child’s mental health as they go back to school during a pandemic. She says parents can model behavior to keep themselves and others safe, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and their school district guidelines. She also says having an open discussion can go a long way for children’s mental health.

“So having frank conversations with them although sometimes we want to protect them, which we can still do in those conversations. But having those conversations about, ‘What do you know? What do you want to know? What is scary maybe?’ So having those conversations with them to really prepare them.”

DeJong says for those children that are staying home, having education stations for kids to rotate through, creating schedules, and sticking to routines will help provide normally during the school year. She reminds parents that children are smart and pick things up quickly.

“When they understand, and they start to see what’s going on, and know why we’re doing what we’re doing, it really helps them to follow through on that and know, ‘Yup okay, we know we got to do this because we’ve got to make sure everyone is staying safe, that we’re not trying to get each other sick.”

Contact DeJong with any questions via email at mldejong@iastate.edu. To hear more from DeJong listen to today’s Community State Bank in Paton Let’s Talk Greene County program.