# Seriously thinking about visiting the grand kids.



## Ruth n Jersey (Jun 14, 2020)

We are in New Jersey and my daughter is in Virginia, Their state is more open than ours. We haven't been in contact with anyone except my son who works by himself and hasn't socialized either.
We are thinking about visiting them. We have our masks just in case and can make the trip in 5 hours or probably less these days. No need to stop for gas or food. If we both don't have our coffee in the morning we won't have to use a rest stop. lol  
I miss them so much but wonder if we should risk it. 
What do you think.


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## Aunt Bea (Jun 15, 2020)

As long as your family is comfortable with the visit I would say go for it!

Take the basic precautions that we've all learned to live with over the past three months and enjoy the visit.


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## old medic (Jun 15, 2020)

I would take the normal precautions and go.... you may pass on the hugging 
We are taking our Grandson, and 2 kids for a beach camping trip starting tomorrow for the weekend.


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## Ronni (Jun 15, 2020)

I think you should go Ruth.

Personally I would be less concerned about the stops along the way...wear a mask if you go into a store and wipe down what you buy then sanitize your hands if the store clerk touched it, gloves if you need to use a restroom and discard them before you get back into the car. Think of your vehicle as a safe zone, and sanitize yourself and whatever you bring into it before you touch the interior.

Remember that contagion takes time and repeated or constant exposure. A 2 minute encounter with A clerk, 5 minutes in A store is highly unlikely to cause problems.

I’d be more focused on your daughter’s potential exposure. Does she work?  What precautions does she take? Etc.


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## Aneeda72 (Jun 15, 2020)

My daughter, her husband, and my great granddaughter are coming here at the end of the month, so I say go see yours!  We can not live the rest of our lives without seeing our families, who are are our reasons for living, IMO.


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## jujube (Jun 15, 2020)

Mine just spent the night with us Thursday night.  It was so good to see them.


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## Pinky (Jun 15, 2020)

They are now allowing people to "bubble" in groups of 10. My daughter & son-in-law both work from home, so, next weekend they will visit us. She loves to cook, and will be making us dinner


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## Don M. (Jun 15, 2020)

We had a nice family BBQ at the oldest daughter/son-in-laws lake house yesterday.  We hadn't seen some of the family in almost 3 months, due to this virus.  No one has showed any symptoms of this illness, but we still kept a reasonable distance from each other....even limited the contact with the little great grandkids....that was kind of hard.  It was also an early Fathers Day party.  
The Son-in-Law bought a new boat a couple of weeks ago, and I may go over there later this week for some early day fishing with him.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jun 15, 2020)

Wow! Looks like many of you are visiting with proper precautions. 
My daughter doesn't work and her hubby works mostly from home. The grand kids do play outside most of the day with friends in the neighborhood.  This is my main concern for them and us,
All the kids are out in their neighborhood and have been since they closed the schools. Doesn't make much sense to me.
My daughter is a clean freak and even before the virus was always disinfecting everything. Her hubby is a doctor so he knows what is important. Still kids will be kids.
My daughter will be cooking and maybe we will do a bit of hiking. Mostly enjoying the kids.


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## hollydolly (Jun 15, 2020)

I don't have Grandchildren, but I desperately would like to see my daughter but she lives in another country where flight restrictions haven't been lifted without quarantine yet... .  I haven't seen her since last year


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## Keesha (Jun 15, 2020)

Yes go. See them. Hug them. ( if possible ) Take pictures. Make memories. Smile ! Laugh! How will you regret that.


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## Been There (Jun 15, 2020)

I am in Virginia and I haven’t heard any big news about being a hot spot or anyone excited about not wearing masks. A few stores are requesting that you wear a mask before entering, but they are few and far between.


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## RadishRose (Jun 15, 2020)

I don't feel so confidant. Carriers can infect you before they even have a fever. I just urge everyone to follow your state guidelines and keep safe.


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## CarolfromTX (Jun 16, 2020)

I would absolutely go.


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## Lethe200 (Jun 16, 2020)

_Just reverse the recommendations if grandparents are the ones visiting! Please note formatting emphasis is mine; the article was almost two full pages._

*When Can I See My Grandkids?*
The pandemic has separated many grandparents from their grandchildren. Here’s advice for safely reuniting your family’s oldest and youngest generations.
NY Times May 20, 2020

(edited for length) .....As reality sets in that pandemic living will be measured in months and possibly years, grandparents are asking, “How can I safely visit my grandchildren?”

“This is a tricky one because older people are particularly vulnerable to this virus,” said Julia Marcus, an infectious disease epidemiologist. To start, families need their own reality check about the actual level of vigilance by every member of the household.

So as a first step, think about human contacts, big and small, by every member of the household. “If you’re a family and you have some leakage in your quarantine protocol — if you had to go to the grocery store, for instance, delivery people came over, other people entered your house — any time you have a break in that protective bubble I would be extremely cautious,” said Dr. Soe-Lin.

Now that you’ve taken stock, try to seal the “leaks” in your quarantine bubble. While it may be impossible to get your contact risk to zero, you can eliminate the biggest risks (like outside visitors), reduce shopping trips to once a week or less, improve hand hygiene and wear a mask. Once you’re confident in your family’s quarantine vigilance for 14 days, it’s less risky to visit an older family member. *But go with a plan.*

The safer strategy is to spend time together outdoors — the risk for viral transmission outside is far lower than inside. Everyone should wash their hands, and stay at least six feet apart. Some experts suggest 10 to 12 feet if the grandparent is a very elderly person or has a chronic health condition. Even outdoors, everyone over the age of 2 — and not just the grandparent — should wear a mask. Children are more likely to wear a mask if you explain to them that it’s to protect someone they love.

“A sneeze without a mask can spread up to 20 feet,” said Dr. Asaf Bitton, executive director of Ariadne Labs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “It’s also the act of speaking — we expel droplets even in quiet speech. The mask really contains a great amount of them. The mask is protecting all of us from each other.”

Masks can be removed for meals, but everyone should stay at least six feet apart from the older person. Don’t share food or drinks — it increases the risk of close contact or catching germs from serving utensils and dishes. If you have hand sanitizer, use it often. And avoid touching the face.

*Remember, the biggest worry is being in an enclosed space with someone who has the virus but doesn’t know it. *Keep everyone outside, if possible. But if a child must enter a grandparent’s house, monitor them and allow it only when the grandparent is outside. Everyone should wear a mask, and sanitize the bathroom after use. If the grandparent is visiting you, designate one disinfected bathroom just for them and keep children outdoors.

Linsey Marr, an aerosol scientist at Virginia Tech who studies viral transmission, said that before the pandemic, her 74-year-old mother-in-law cared for her two children twice a week. Now they meet outdoors for family meals, with everyone keeping their distance.

“We have a long table outside, and she sits at the opposite end more than six feet away,” said Dr. Marr. “We do not pass around dishes. She has not been in our house for months. We’re worried about her. We don’t want her to get sick.”

While parents may worry that all these precautions will create too much stress, research shows that even young children understand the concept of keeping people safe, “kind of like how superheroes help save people,” said Dr. Neha Chaudhary, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

“Parents can explain the need to keep grandparents from getting sick by keeping their body to themselves, staying behind a particular landmark like a sidewalk or set of chairs, and keeping a mask on their faces since germs come from there,” Dr. Chaudhary said. “Young kids generally understand the idea of something bad happening and trying to do good instead.”

Don’t panic if a child breaches the social distancing barrier and gets close to a grandparent. *Brief encounters are not a big risk, and you don’t want to create fear in children. But long hugs, cuddles and sitting in grandpa or grandma’s lap are not advised. *If both grandparent and child are wearing a mask, a quick hug from a child around the waist or knees, keeping faces as far apart as possible, poses very little risk, Dr. Marr said.

Long-distance visits to see grandparents are more difficult. You should stay in a hotel or rental nearby, not in the grandparent’s house, and still limit visits to the outdoors while wearing a mask. Even if you drive instead of fly, stopping for food and using public restrooms along the way sets your quarantine clock back to zero. It’s safest to quarantine for 14 days before visiting the older person.

Be aware that the risk of being together during the pandemic will change over time. *Areas where new cases and hospitalizations are low and dropping may be safer than places where illness is high and on the rise, Dr. Bitton said.* Experts say the summer may be your best opportunity to visit with older family members in many states, partly because you can spend time together outdoors, but also because a surge in cases is expected in the fall and winter, when stricter quarantines may be recommended for the most vulnerable.


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## needshave (Aug 18, 2020)

We live in Ohio. My only grandchild lives in KC and she just turned 2. We have not seen her for almost a year, because of the virus and our business demands early in the year. Now that we have more time to travel we can not or perhaps should not is more appropriate. So we face time with my son and his family every Sunday, I know its not the same but the grandaughter recognizes us and calls us by name so it is a real plus to have that capability. The quality of the pictures are so good the grandaughter is intrigued by a beard I have started with the start of the dreaded covid 19. That being said, I just don't feel comfortable staying in a hotel overnight or flying with the risks that are still there. To us its not worth the potential risk to us and my sons family. We typically take a cruise every year in winter, not this year.


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