The week's best parenting advice: June 30, 2020

How childcare centers are coping, the "mommy brain" myth, and more

A mother and child.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

1. What childcare centers have learned

"Throughout the pandemic, many childcare centers have stayed open for the children of front-line workers," and they've gleaned lessons that could be useful for parents and educators this fall, says Anya Kamenetz at NPR. For example, some YMCAs grouped children into "pods" of no more than nine kids, and to encourage social distancing, carers had children do "airplane arms." At the beginning of each new activity, kids got a special hand stamp that had to be washed off before a new activity began. "We were teaching them not just 'rinse your hands,' but 'scrub them,'" says Libby Corral, chief operating officer of the Valley of the Sun YMCA. The Y told Kamenetz some coronavirus cases were confirmed, but there was never more than one case at a single site. "These experiences illustrate that it's possible to bring kids together without a guarantee of an outbreak or a serious situation developing," explains Dr. Joshua Sharfstein at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

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Jessica Hullinger

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.