In 2021, it’s nearly impossible to prioritize which bad thing to protect your kid from first | Opinion

From the time your kid is born, you fall in love with them so hard and care so deeply that all you want to do is spend every waking second trying to protect them and keep them safe. However, the complexity of this has gotten harder over the years in our current environmental, social, and political climate, significantly heightened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For a parent, it’s nearly impossible to prioritize which bad thing to protect your kid from first. When they are young, you try to keep them safe from everyday stuff; you keep them from choking on small objects, sticking their fingers in electrical sockets, and falling down the stairs.

When they are old enough to leave the nest, you teach them to protect themselves: Don’t get into a car with strangers (no matter how much candy they offer or how cute they say their dog is), be aware of your surroundings, look both ways before crossing the street, keep your eyes up and your phone away.

As they get older, new protections are needed. So you talk with them about safe driving and safe sex. Don’t ever get into a car with someone drinking or doing drugs; don’t ever drive when you drink or do drugs. If you have sex, always use a condom.

» READ MORE: Congratulations, parents! You survived the worst school year ever! | Opinion (from June 2021)

Then there are the things we never thought we’d have to protect our kids from, the multitude of which keeps increasing, including school shootings and gun violence, exposure to deadly viruses, and the devastating effects of climate change (hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes, etc.).

This came to a head just a few weeks into the new school year in Philadelphia. Children weren’t back in school a week when the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit Philly, causing historic flooding throughout the region. All Philadelphia School District schools were moved back to remote learning for a day. The following week came the first text message from my kid that her school was on lockdown because of an active shooter; thankfully, it was external to the school, but it was still near enough to campus to cause a precautionary lockdown. The following week, just three weeks since the school year began, four Philadelphia schools had to move back to virtual teaching due to COVID-19.

This is the new reality all parents and students now have to face and the new things we need to prepare our kids for to keep them safe: Get vaccinated. Always wear a mask indoors or with friends who aren’t vaccinated. Socially distance. If there is an active shooter, get down, lock doors, stay away from the windows, please stay safe. If there is a tornado warning, get in the basement. If there is a flood warning, get to higher ground.

It is because of this new reality that I preferred my kid safe at home last year, but that is not a sustainable option for her or any of us. I shouldn’t need my kid home to know she is safe.

» READ MORE: COVID forced working moms like me to prove we’re superheroes. But how long can we last? | Opinion (from July 2020)

We need to get our house in order in this country. We need the city to require COVID-19 vaccines for all eligible adults and kids — in schools, restaurants, and everywhere. We need the city, the mayor, and the Philadelphia School District to take seriously the remediation of toxic hazards, such as asbestos, from our schools, which continually plague School District buildings. We need the state to enact evidence-based gun laws, including universal background checks and banning assault rifles. We need the federal government to reduce greenhouse gas and carbon emissions, not just in words but in actions: Ban single-use plastic, ban Styrofoam, mandate that manufacturers be held responsible for the life of their products.

As parents, we can do only so much; once our kids are outside the home — out in the world — we need city, state, and federal systems to take over and care so deeply for our kids that all they want to do is protect and keep them safe, too.

Marion Leary is a nurse, public health practitioner, and activist.