Social or Physical Distancing: Please Respect My Space!
Social Distancing can also be called Physical Distancing because even though we must stay physically apart, it is important to remain socially connected with friends and family.
How to Social Distance?
- Stay 6 feet apart AT ALL TIMES (two arms’ length apart)
- Don’t gather in groups
- Stay out of crowed places and avoid mass gathering
How can we remind others to respect our boundaries in a respectful way?
Sometimes we all forget to socially distance ourselves from others. Here are a few ways you can remind others to physically distance while still being polite.
- “I’m really concerned about my immune system. Can you please keep your social distance?”
- “I know it’s challenging when we’re in a public space, but I’m trying to practice social distancing. Would you mind giving me some additional space?
- “Hi, could you please give me some space? I’m trying to keep the vulnerable people in my life as safe as possible. Thank you for understanding.”
- “I wish I could have you and the girls over, but right now I have to make my health and the health of others a priority and I would feel terrible if we got one another sick.”
- “I want to catch up with you too, but your health is really important to me. In the spirit of social distancing, let’s schedule a FaceTime or Skype tonight instead. I can show you how to set it up if you’re not sure how.”
Come up with your own way to remind others to stay safe and practice it before you leave the house!
Activity:
- Practice the phrase(s) that best suits you so you can be prepared to remind others you need some space.
- Do this worksheet. This worksheet focuses on kindness and good manners, but can be helpful when identifying those you want to be near (or keep in contact with).