7 Things to Include in Your Family Pandemic Plan

Family Pandemic Plan

Let’s talk personality real quick. As a family we are all used to being out and about. I have made sure that we experience and explore as much as we can, no matter where we live.

Between my husband and I, it is me that is social and always wanting to do something outside the home. He, on the other hand, could hang out at home all day every day and be just fine, as long as he can make the occasional store run.

Our personality difference, as it comes to being out and about, aren’t really ever an issue. Insert pandemic. Issue birthed!

The Beginning of Quarantine

March 17th, I had a tonsillectomy. My surgeon literally said I was his last elective surgery patient, due to COVID. Right after my surgery, things in Tampa pretty much shut down. It was honestly perfect timing for me, because the surgery took me OUT! I wasn’t trying to go anywhere anyway. So quarantining was simple. We pretty much did not leave the house.

Mental Health During a Pandemic

I remember the day where I went to my husband about not feeling good, mentally. He suggested that I just go outside and take a walk. I did just that and it was everything I needed. I was starting to fall into a depression without Vitamin D (the sun), social interaction, and being out of the house.

I am a good mix of extroverted and introverted tendencies, so I crave being social, then I need to be alone for a bit. Even if you are mostly staying home. please do yourself a favor and at least go for a daily walk or find a reason to step outside.

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Being Social During a Pandemic

Being in the middle of a pandemic has certainly impacted my need for social activities. In the beginning, Vic and I didn’t really have a solid conversation about out expectations during the pandemic. Being in the military, my husband took a very rigid stance as it relates to social outing during the pandemic. I just went with it, because like I said, I was recovering from a surgery and not up for much anyway.

As the months went on I realized we needed to talk. So we did and agreed that I could still be social, but that I needed to follow the standard safety rules set in place by our local government. No issue.

I pretty quickly commenced my social activities. I scheduled girls brunches and took the kids out to do different activities. I went to a couple networking events and I even hosted an outdoor event. I did what made my heart happy, all while trying to be as safe as possible.

I felt like I was doing my part to be as safe and responsible as possible, without compromising my sanity.

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Close Encounter with COVID

Well, I recently took my daughter with me to a gathering inside of someone’s home and a couple of days later I was informed that one of the individuals at the gathering tested positive for COVID. Insert the eyes wide open emoji! I will be the first to admit that this was just too close for home. I immediately feared even telling my husband, because I thought he might hit me with the “I told you to so”. Of course, I told him anyway.

Of course, he was not happy.

Long story short, none of us ever experienced any symptoms and later we tested negative for COVID.

That still didn’t mean everything was back to being all good on the home front. Vic still wanted to have a conversation about the entire incident and express his concerns.

We quickly discovered that our expectations during this pandemic were not aligned. This led to me suggesting we write out a Family Pandemic Plan. I may have just made this up, but it is the best way to describe what we wrote out. I am not going to go into specific details about our exact plan, but I am going to share why you need one and what it should include.

Why you need a Family Pandemic Plan?

The answer honestly depends on how the members of your household feel about social activities during a pandemic. Some households are all on board that everyone will be staying home. Some households are all on board that everyone will still go out and live as normal. I would say you need a plan if there is an adult or teen in your household with differing opinions.

Maybe you have a teenager, that still wants to go to social events at school. Maybe you are going stir-crazy staying home too much. Maybe your husband doesn’t want to wear a mask, but you do. No matter where the difference in opinion lies, if one exists, you need a Family Pandemic Plan

This Family Pandemic Plan will ensure that everyone in your household is on the same page and knows what to expect. This will remove the possibility of someone saying “I didn’t know…”. Your child might also stop asking to visit his friends every single day, if you all have already sat down and talked about expectations.

This plan might also lessen the anxiety you feel regarding the need to be social, even during a Pandemic. With this plan in place, when opportunities for social activities arise, you will already know how to respond.

I should add, the plan needs to be in writing (paper or electronically). The purpose is to make a working document that everyone can then refer to as needed.

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7 Things to include in Your Family Pandemic Plan?

I told you I just made this up, but it was too good not to share. I am speaking 100% from my own experience. So here are the elements that could be included in your Pandemic Family plan:

1. State your expectations on the government suggested or mandated rules like masks and social distancing. Will you wear them? Will the kids wear them? Will you only wear them in certain settings?

2. Discuss if anyone in your household be attending any activities or social events outside your home. This can include going to eat with others, visiting a local amusement park, attending church, going to the mall, birthday parties, backyard gatherings, holiday gatherings, sleep overs, etc. Is it open season or are social events totally cut off? Do you only prefer outdoor events? Try to be as thorough with this list as you can. Will you attend the typical holiday gatherings? Do you care how large the gathering is?

3. Include your expectations on being in someone else’s home and vice versa. Maybe you want your kids to visit a neighbor, but only in their front/back yard. Maybe you want to shut down all visits to anyone else’s home.

4. Discuss if you will travel or if you will allow others to come from out of town to visit you. Maybe you want your loved ones to visit, but you want to make sure they have quarantined before they come.

5. Include how your kids will attend school. Is your decision permanent? Maybe you want them to stay home through a certain month of the new year. Maybe they are currently attending in person, but you want them to go virtual at some point.

6. Discuss eating out in general. Will you physically eat inside a restaurant? Will you always do carry out? Maybe you will only eat out if outdoor dining is an option.

7. Be sure to include vaccination expectations. Is your family getting vaccinated? If one of the adults is asked to volunteer can they do so? Do you want to wait until a certain time to get vaccinated?

This may seem corny, extra or unnecessary. But, trust me when I say, you do not want to let this pandemic disturb the peace in your house. Mental health is a big deal and many are struggling during this pandemic. This plan can help you ensure your family's mental health is not compromised.

In creating your Family Pandemic plan, you may find that you still do not agree on everything. However, at least you will have made the effort to address everyone’s concerns and come to a conclusion on how you will operate during this time.

The overall goal is making sure everyone in your household is considered as it relates to their social needs during a pandemic.