Q: Also, now that cooler weather is coming, what can my teenagers do indoors? We are already bored.
A: It seems like you and your family are doing a lot of things right! Think about how much we’ve learned and adapted in the past 6 months. Wow. Congratulations.
Here’s one more important factor to consider: Time!
Keep your in-person interactions with people outside of your pod short (1-2 hours). Remember that the longer you spend with other people, the more likely you’ll get exposed to an infectious dose. Also, given what we know about the risks in poorly ventilated bathrooms, try to avoid visits long enough that someone will need to use an indoor bathroom.
And if you do spend time with a friend or relative outside your pod, wait a while before doing it again. Back-to-back social interactions with multiple people increase your risk of exposure and asymptomatic spread.
Bottom Line: Limit your social interactions in number, frequency, and duration.
As for your teenagers, now is an opportunity for them to be creative, civic minded, and curious. Encourage your kids to create art, compose a song, craft a poem, or make an animated video. Bonus points if their project involves educating others about the risks of COVID-19. We found this fantastic teen-made video about the importance of limiting exposure time to reduce COVID-19 risk, #breakthroughjuniorchallenge.
If you’ve created or seen other public health campaigns, videos, or TikTok videos that you have found particularly compelling, post a link below.
