The week's best parenting advice: May 12, 2020
A worrying new kids' disease, the murky future of college, and more
1. What is 'pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome'?
Troubling reports out of New York, as well as Europe, suggest COVID-19 may be connected to a dangerous inflammatory condition in children. Three children have died in New York as a result of the illness, which doctors are calling "pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome." It's likely very rare, but as HuffPost writes, "parents should absolutely be taking this seriously." Symptoms to watch for include a sustained fever, rash, red eyes, swollen lymph nodes, swollen hands and feet, tummy pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. The illness seems similar to something called Kawasaki disease. "Both involve a surge of inflammation in the body and can have serious effects on the heart," explains Pam Belluck at The New York Times. Many of the children showing signs of the syndrome test positive for COVID-19, but not all, so uncertainty remains. Dr. Michael Portman, director of Seattle Children's Kawasaki Disease Clinic, stresses that "if your child has persistent fever for four or five days, parents should seek medical attention."
2. The murky future of college
Higher education will be transformed by the pandemic. What, exactly, college will look like this fall will depend on coronavirus infection rates, but there are a few possible scenarios. Classes could be conducted entirely online, or universities could employ a mix of virtual and in-person classes. Some schools could delay the start of the year by a few months or even an entire season. We could see block scheduling, where "students take just one course at a time for a shorter duration, typically three or four weeks," KQED explains. Schools may permit just first-year students on campus. Or they may allow everyone back, but with social distancing measures in place. "I don't think there's any scenario under which it's business as usual on American college campuses in the fall," Nicholas Christakis, a sociologist and physician at Yale University, tells KQED.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. Should you hire a virtual babysitter?
The rise of virtual babysitting is upon us, reports Katharine Gammon at NYT Parenting. Sites like Sittercity, UrbanSitter, and Care.com are all offering onscreen babysitting services to "entertain kids and give parents short breaks." Does it actually work? While virtual babysitters obviously can't change diapers or make your kids lunch, they can play games, craft, or read stories with them, all of which engage kids' imaginative play, Ohio-based pediatrician Arthur Lavin tells the Times. But there are limits. Virtual babysitting probably only works in small doses — for 30 minutes to an hour — and is most successful in the mornings when kids are well rested, says Lynn Perkins, the chief executive of UrbanSitter. It also helps if the sitter has a specialty, "like being able to talk and play games about sports, or dinosaurs, or math," Gammon says. As for the cost? Gammon reports virtual babysitting is often offered "at a lower rate than live babysitters."
4. My tween, the big baby
"Baby talk is cute — but only when it comes out of the mouth of an actual baby," says Claire Gillespie at The Week. When your "big" kid suddenly starts whining and purposefully mispronouncing words, it can be especially annoying. But "for tweens and adolescents, regressing back to younger behaviors is a way of regaining their sense of security while simultaneously undergoing a major emotional and physical maturation," Gillespie says. Such behavior is normal, especially in times of stress. The bad news? It might last a while. "It's not unusual for it to start at age 9 or younger, and in some cases it can continue until age 14," says licensed marriage and family therapist Wendy O'Connor. One way parents can help is by teaching kids the vocabulary — words like "stressed," "pressured," "anxious," "threatened," and "inferior" — to express their feelings in a more age-appropriate way.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
5. It gets better
Parenting during a pandemic "is like having a newborn again," writes Carrie Melago writes at The Washington Post. There's exhaustion, uncertainty, a feeling of being homebound, a steep learning curve — and it's all accompanied by a "constant awareness of life's fragility." With this revelation in mind, Melago says in her moments of frustration, she is returning to the lessons of new parenthood: Sleep when the kids sleep. Ask for help. Take breaks when you need to. Remember to take care of yourself. "This framing — that this is a brand new experience, that I'm just getting my sea legs — has helped me be a little kinder to myself during this stretch," Melago says. "For once, I'm trying to suspend judgment, just as I would for a mom wearing a baby carrier askew or a dad who forgot to pull down the sunshade on his stroller. They aren't hopeless parents. They're just new at this. And so are all of us."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.
-
'Musk's reliance on China draws rising scrutiny'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biba: the story of a 'legendary emporium'
The Week Recommends Brand's 60th anniversary is being marked with retrospective celebrating the 'iconic shop's cultural importance'
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
How the Russia-Ukraine conflict has spread to Africa
The Explainer Ukraine is attempting to strengthen its alliances on the continent to counter Russia's growing presence
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How happy is Finland really?
Today's Big Question Nordic nation tops global happiness survey for seventh year in a row with 'focus on contentment over joy'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How Tehran became the world's nose job capital
Under the radar Iranian doctors raise alarm over low costs, weak regulation and online influence of 'Western beauty standards'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Africa's renewed battle against female genital mutilation
Under the radar Campaigners call for ban in Sierra Leone after deaths of three girls as coast-to-coast convoy prepares to depart
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Argentina: the therapy capital of the world
Under the radar Buenos Aires natives go hungry to pay for psychoanalysis, amid growing instability, anxiety – and societal acceptance
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Does declining birth rate spell doom for Britain?
Today's Big Question Ageing population puts pressure on welfare state, economy and fabric of society, while fertility is rising on populist agendas
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How a new blood test could revolutionise sepsis diagnosis
The Explainer Early results from ongoing trial suggest faster identification of deadly condition is possible
By The Week Staff Published
-
Kush: the drug destroying young lives in West Africa
The Explainer There has been a sharp rise in young addicts in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia
By Flora Neville, The Week UK Published
-
What is life like in Gaza now?
In depth Despite starvation, a sanitation crisis, blackouts and boredom, the 'mundane drumbeat of life continues'
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Last updated