Kids

Do kids still need vaccinations if they are learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic?

By Gertrude Aziz 2 days ago

The 2020-2021 school year will soon begin the way it ended in South Florida: online.

And while your child may be temporarily learning through a computer screen instead of in a classroom, that doesn’t mean you should delay a trip to the doctor.

All public and private hoolchildren from kindergarten through 12th grade in Florida still need to get the necessary vaccines required to attend school — even if they are learning online, according to the Florida Department of Health.

And yes, this includes students who plan to remain in virtual school once kids can return to campus masked up for socially distanced learning.

Miami-Dade and Broward Public Schools are reminding parents that they need to make sure their children’s immunization records are up-to-date, or that exception requirements have been met, now that the school year is starting again, as usual.

School officials say Florida also hasn’t issued any waivers

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Facing a wave of evictions, California is about to make thousands of kids homeless

By Gertrude Aziz 7 days ago

Ian Jameson, left, organized a gathering of tenant rights activists at El Monte City Hall to demand that the City Council pass a moratorium barring all evictions during the pandemic. <span class="copyright">(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)</span>
Ian Jameson, left, organized a gathering of tenant rights activists at El Monte City Hall to demand that the City Council pass a moratorium barring all evictions during the pandemic. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Things weren’t great before COVID-19, but at least only about 570 families, hungry, broke and on the brink of homelessness, needed help from the volunteers at St. Joseph Center in Los Angeles.

Today, that number is about 860.

A month from now, it could be in the thousands — or even more.

California is rapidly approaching what has been dubbed the “eviction cliff,” or the point where true protection from being evicted during the pandemic will fall away, at least for a short time. If that happens, as many as 1 million families across the state — some 365,000 in Los Angeles County alone — could find themselves at risk of being forced out

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Target Is Now Selling Adorable Kids’ Face Masks for $2 a Pop

By Gertrude Aziz 1 week ago

From Good Housekeeping

As the novel coronavirus pandemic surges on, the demand for face masks has some retailers scrambling to make more — and sometimes, finding a mask that’s actually in stock and ready to be shipped is tricky. Medical-grade surgical masks are in tight supply as healthcare workers on the frontlines in hospitals and clinics are facing a shortage of supplies; while these surgical masks and N95 respirators are designed for a single-use, many doctors, nurses, and essential staff are reusing them anyway.

This is why the Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams has urged the general public to stop buying PPE. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that N95’s are the most effective in protecting those treating infected patients, but for those who are not in a medical setting, they’re actually rendered mostly ineffective without a fit test. All this being said, it makes more

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How To Explain To Your Kids That Money Is Tight Right Now

By Gertrude Aziz 2 weeks ago

Parents set the tone for conversations about money. (Photo: Westend61 via Getty Images)
Parents set the tone for conversations about money. (Photo: Westend61 via Getty Images)

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is hardly a secret. More than 50 million Americans have filed for unemployment since March, and food insecurity has risen to unprecedented levels. 

If you’re a parent whose financial situation has changed due to the pandemic, you may be struggling to determine the best way to convey this new reality to your children. Fortunately, there are healthy and educational ways to have conversations about family finances with children. 

To help inform these discussions, HuffPost asked a few experts about how parents can explain to kids that money is tight right now. Read on for their advice. Although our discussions focused on the current recession, this guidance can apply to other economic circumstances as well. 

Inform, but don’t overshare.

“Regarding any discussion with children, whether it be about the pandemic or

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You still have to get your kids vaccinated even if their California school goes online

By Gertrude Aziz 2 weeks ago

Most California kids will kick off the 2020-2021 academic year with distance learning due to the coronavirus, but the state’s strict vaccination laws still require students be up-to-date on their shots before starting class.

The California Legislature in recent years has passed some of the tightest vaccine mandates in the country to increase the immunization rates in schools. In 2015, lawmakers approved Senate Bill 277 to exclude personal beliefs from the list of reasons parents can skip vaccinating their children.

Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed follow-up measure Senate Bill 276 to increase oversight of doctors who issue five or more medical exemptions in a single year after clusters of unvaccinated children in certain schools were tied to a handful of physicians.

Before students are granted admission, schools are required to review incoming childcare, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten and 7th grade vaccine records.

Despite the pandemic forcing California kids behind a

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“The presumption should be to get our kids back to school”

By Gertrude Aziz 3 weeks ago

Washington — Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Sunday that as school districts weigh whether to reopen fully for in-person learning amid the coronavirus crisis, which continues to worsen in many states, the “presumption should be” that students return to school for the fall semester.

“Each community is going to have to make the determination about the circumstances for reopening and what steps they take for reopening,” Azar said on “Face the Nation.” “But the presumption should be we get our kids back to school.”

Transcript: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on “Face the Nation”

With the academic year set to begin in the coming weeks, school districts are facing decisions on whether to allow students to return for classroom learning five days per week, switch to online learning or adopt a hybrid model that combines both approaches. 

President Trump pressured schools earlier this month to

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Where To Buy The Best Kids Face Masks

By Gertrude Aziz 3 weeks ago

Reusable face masks are one practical way to help slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Over the past few months, companies across all kinds of industries have started to sell cloth face masks for adults — and some are making face masks for kids with fun prints. ET Style has the low down on where to buy the best kids face masks.

If you’re a parent looking for personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines for your children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone over the age of two wear a face mask while outside of their home. Whether you’re dealing with an adult mask or a kids’ mask, make sure it fits snugly but comfortably against both sides of the face, can be secured with ties or ear loops, includes multiple layers of fabric (most have two or three), allows for unrestricted breathing and is washed

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Where to Buy Face Masks for Kids Online

By Gertrude Aziz 3 weeks ago

Reusable face masks are one practical way to help slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Over the past few months, companies across all kinds of industries have started to sell cloth face masks for adults — and some are making face masks for kids with fun prints.

If you’re a parent looking for personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines for your children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that anyone over the age of two wear a face mask while outside of their home. Whether you’re dealing with an adult mask or a kids’ mask, make sure it fits snugly but comfortably against both sides of the face, can be secured with ties or ear loops, includes multiple layers of fabric (most have two or three), allows for unrestricted breathing and is washed regularly.

Getting your kid comfortable with wearing a face mask — and then actually keeping

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How to teach sustainable habits to kids

By Gertrude Aziz 4 weeks ago

How to teach sustainable habits to kids
How to teach sustainable habits to kids

In a world of Greta Thunbergs, the ever-looming threat of climate change, and its already disastrous toll, what can you do to ensure your kids understand the state of the world, without overwhelming them, and help them become part of the solution?

The good news is, many young people are already alert to the climate rumblings around them. “They’re more aware today of these broader, complex socio-scientific issues than I think even our generation was when we were younger,” says Carol O’Donnell, the director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center in Washington, D.C.

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She thinks that’s because we now have more evidence to show that humans are negatively impacting the environment, pointing to the consensus among 97 percent or more of climate scientists on this conclusion.

“We have evidence that we are depleting a lot of the resources that we know

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How to Invest For Your Kids and Teach Them to Invest Themselves

By Gertrude Aziz 4 weeks ago

Many parents are anxious about providing for their children into adulthood but they can start to share this duty by gradually incorporating their kids into money management decisions.

Not only is this a great way for kids to develop their financial education, but they will also understand the critical importance money plays throughout their life.

For parents who want to provide a wealthy financial future for their children, here’s how to get started:

— Address current financial needs.

— Invest in children’s future.

— Grow children’s earnings.

— Teach kids how to invest in themselves.

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Address Current Financial Needs

It’s never too early for parents to start including their children in money decisions. There are many investing tools to utilize to jump-start their investments.

If you’re opening a savings account for a child, you can establish a custodial account where the

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