A mother’s advice about COVID-19

SUBMITTED - During the first week of the “Time for a Scavenger Hunt in Photos Contest,” there was one photo that caught the attention of the judges and was deserving of being Honorable Mention: “Social Distancing” submitted by Mandy Phillips Slater on behalf of the Slater Family. The photo features siblings Hannah and Hank, both 16, preparing for a run at the end of the driveway of the family home in rural Brazil. Hayden was unavailable for the photo.

The Slater family is very familiar with the concept of “Social Distancing.”

In 2004, new parents Aaron and Mandy Slater brought home three bundles of joy, Hannah, Hayden, and Hank. The children, born premature, had spent 72 days in a neonatal intensive care unit.

“We couldn’t get around family,” said Mandy, who admits she took social distancing seriously. “Ask my family; I was a general when it came to sanitizing and not bringing anything around them that wasn’t safe. “

Mandy said COVID-19 is a no-brainer situation for the family.

The boys - Hayden and Hank - have asthma, which compromises their respiratory systems, but, luckily, Hannah doesn’t. Participating in running and sports has helped improve their health.

“I’ve seen a BIG difference with their asthma and their overall health,” said Mandy. “Being a NICU parent, I’ve always been more aware, washing hands, changing clothes when getting home - because you can’t see germs. And they immediately go into the washer. Before having the triplets, I wasn’t aware nor probably practiced hand washing. But after you watch your children fight to breathe, eat, and survive hour-to-hour, it totally changes your perspective.”

Daily workouts help the three freshmen in condition for participation in Northview High School track and cross county sports, and it’s good for their mental health.

However, living through this historic COVID-19 pandemic has its ups and downs for the children. The kids are “zooming” with their track teammates and coaches weekly, which lets them see each other and interact while practicing social distancing. Participating in the virtual track season is fun, but they are missing out on the track season.

The E-learning is not a new concept for the kids as they use the Chromebooks daily while at school.

“The hard part is not seeing their friends and teachers daily,” said Mandy, who admits teachers providing videos to teach online helps. “Do they miss going to school every day? Yes, most definitely. However, technology helps keep them connected and social media. These are unprecedented times we are currently living.”

The triplets haven’t been able to go into a store for weeks. Hayden’s spring trip to New York City for choir, as well as Hannah’s oral surgery, was canceled.

“Some people have made comments that this is not a big deal,” said Mandy. “It’s a HUGE deal.”

Of course, Hannah, Hank, and Hayden are like other teenagers; they are hanging out at home, participate in online church and youth group activities, and socialize with friends and family online

“We, as a family, have worked on a small project together around our house,” said Mandy. “They have been invited to meet others at the park, but we haven’t allowed it. While we hate not being able to see each other, and we love being included, but it’s just not safe.”

When there are big groups at the park, Mandy agrees with health officials, it might start out with great intentions, but then 3-8 families, who might not know each other that well, all want to go to play, walk, run... That becomes more and more, and then that leads to 6 foot social distancing perimeter becoming harder to maintain.

“It’s just not worth it. It’s so very important for the youth to stay connected to each other,” said Mandy, who believes this is a good time to teach the value of self-discipline to kids. “It’s on them with running to be self-disciplined., and to do their own running/workouts. If they don’t put the time in, then it’s hurting way more than just themselves. It’s hurting their teammates. Same with their e-learning. While I believe teachers/students would both agree they miss each other and long for their routine back. eLearning is on each student. For my kids, I have set rules. ‘You’re out of school right now for a reason to keep you all safe. If you don’t put in the time do your assignments correctly it’s ON EACH OF YOU.’”

Mandy realizes the boundaries and expectations for her children might seem a bit much to others.

“But that’s our job as parents. We have three kids at once, the same age, during this uncharted territory,” said Mandy, who encourages everyone to wash their hands as often as possible. Some things had to be canceled, which is difficult, but we are grateful because it was for the safety of everyone.”