Is It Safe To Take Your Kids To Grandma’s House This Holiday Season?

You all might be growing tired of COVID-19 news. We are right there with you. We’ve been living with this virus for basically the entire year, and we were all hoping to get a much-needed break this holiday season. We had hoped cases would be going down come November/December, so we could spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with loved ones.

But unfortunately, cases are going up again. Last week (October 30th) the United States hit a new record number of daily COVID-19 cases. Hospitalizations are also up, and experts believe this “third wave” might be the worst wave yet, although it feels like we never worked our way out of the first wave.

Some experts believe that cases going up right now is the worst case scenario because it’s right before the holidays. You remember how hard it was shutting things down back in March? Well, try doing that in November and December. It’s likely the majority of people aren’t going to listen to the guidelines.

People want to return to normal, and normal during the end of every year includes Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas shopping, Christmas parties, etc. Basically, a lot of people gathering in small areas for long periods of time.

And while we all want to see our families, experts are saying it’s best to wait. This Thanksgiving, it might be best for your kids to give the grandparents a socially distanced zoom call.

Dr. Sadiya Khan, assistant professor of preventive medicine in epidemiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Huffpost the following:

“While it is really sad, and feels like a loss — in addition to everything we have lost over the past months — it is really safest to not travel and not gather with family and friends in person. Staying home is really the best way to protect not only yourself, but others.”

But Khan also knows that some people just aren’t going to listen. It’s extremely difficult to cancel Christmas with your loved ones.

So if you do plan to travel this holiday season, please take the proper precautions. If you have any symptoms at all, stay inside until you can get tested. Don’t ignore it, believing it’s just allergies, because while it may feel like just allergies to you, it could feel a whole lot worse for your parents or grandparents.

Another thing you can do is to quarantine for 10-14 days before visiting your grandmother’s house. In fact, that may be more effective than testing.

“Even if you have all been following guidelines, you might want to ramp up safety measures before you gather with grandparents or other family members. It might be a good idea to ‘ask guests to avoid contact with people outside their households for 14 days prior to your gathering.’”

And of course, if you really want to go the extra mile, you can wear a mask during your visit. It might be a weird feeling, wearing a mask while interacting with loved ones, but we know that masks can prevent the spread of the virus.

At the end of the day, it’s up to you and your family. Personally, I think people are going to see their loved ones regardless. So instead of telling them not to, I think we should focus on the smartest ways to do it.

If you have any tips or experiences on how your family has handled gatherings, please drop them below!