Unless you’re a Scrooge, it’s hard not to feel a little bit sad this year about the lack of traditional holiday gatherings and social activities that the end of the year usually has in store.
Thanks to the pandemic, health experts tell us it's best to avoid indoor gatherings, crowded shopping malls, traditional worship services and indoor performances for fear of spreading COVID-19.
"The holidays are just one more time that we have to reframe what we are doing," says infectious disease specialist Dr. Preeti Malani, chief health officer at the University of Michigan. "What we do today can help us stay healthy so that we can celebrate fully next year and beyond."
So go ahead and drop off homemade cookies at someone’s door, go ice skating outdoors, or drive through a holiday lights display. Even just taking time out to make a craft with your family at home can make this time of the year feel special. And who knows -- the absence of nonstop scheduling might just make the holidays more magical.
If you think a big sister is only good for bossing you around and hogging the bathroom, think again. At least in the developing world, having a big sister means more stimulation for toddlers and more help with homework for young school-age boys, according to researchers.
Of course, this kind of parental responsibility often put on older girls comes at a cost. They spend more of their time on their siblings rather than their own schoolwork or playtime.
She'd been hyper-vigilant about pandemic safety so science journalist Robin Marantz Henig was confused and troubled when she tested positive. She couldn't think where or how she could have gotten the virus, and wasn't sure how she was supposed to isolate from her own husband in their home.
Henig shares the story of how she navigated her two-week quarantine and the uncertainties of not knowing when illness may strike.
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