My fiance and I have four sons between us — ages 13, 14, 15 and 16. (And five pairs of chickens, three cats and two dogs. Yes, it's a zany life!)

For the past few months, school has been top of mind and a frequent dinner conversation topic. We value our sons' education, but we value their health and safety more. We've been grappling with the same questions as so many other families: Will our school be able to educate our sons well? Will our school be able to keep our sons safe?

Our school is offering parents the choice to send their kids to school or to do distance learning. We've chosen distance learning. Most of our friends so far are choosing to send their kids to school.

Here's what our mommy M.D.s — doctors who are also mothers — are thinking about on this complex topic.

"I am not planning to send my children to school until at least January," says Michelle Davis-Dash, M.D., a mom of two and a board-certified pediatrician in Baltimore. "Due to the lack of data, the perfect storm of flu season, kids being kids and the lack of proper planning by school systems, I am not comfortable with them going to school."

"What would schools need to do to make it safe for kids?" Davis-Dash continued. "A regular testing schedule would make it so that positive folks could be excluded — and that, for right now, doesn't seem to be in any of the opening plans I have seen. Only that is safe. All other measures are just feeble attempts at easing folks' fears."

"I will send my daughter to school if the students and staff can maintain social distancing, but I'm concerned about gym, lunch and the hallways," says Lisa Campanella-Coppo, M.D., a mom of one daughter and an emergency department physician at Summit Medical Group in Livingston, New Jersey. "I am interested to see what the school boards come up with, but I would suggest that the children stay in one classroom and limit their exposure, and the teachers should rotate. Kids should eat lunch at their desks, and there should be no gym and sports."

"Sending kids to schools is dependent upon several factors," says Hana R. Solomon, M.D., a mom of four and grandmother of eight, a pediatrician and the author of "Clearing the Air One Nose at a Time: Caring for Your Personal Filter" in Columbia, Missouri. "The factors include the following:

— Family situation.

— Size and arrangements made by schools.

— Testing and infection rate in the community.

— Is there a vulnerable member in the family (senior, immunocompromised)?

— Age of child.

"Each family must make up their minds, based on many variables, about what is the best move for the child and the family," Solomon continues. "Schools have an enormous challenge, especially younger aged students-preschool and pre-K through junior high-because these younger kids require closer physical and social interactions.

"Recommendations include daily screening and testing as folks enter the building and constant communication if any symptoms or positive tests develop to facilitate identifying and quarantining immediately to find the hot spots," Solomon continues. "Thank goodness we now have knowledge of anti-inflammatories and anti-viral medications, yet COVID-19 is still a deadly disease for a few.

"I wonder if communities will evolve into home-schooling with small numbers of other community kids who are tested negative, and they go back to 100 years ago, when small classes were held by a loving adult."

Jennifer Bright is a mom of four sons, co-founder and CEO of family- and veteran- owned custom publisher Momosa Publishing, co-founder of the Mommy MD Guides team of 150+ mommy M.D.s, and co-author of "The Mommy MD Guide to the Toddler Years." She lives in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. To find out more about Jennifer Bright and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Free-Photos at Pixabay