By Lisa Drayer, CNN 

For nearly a year, most of our children have been navigating the new, difficult normal: social isolation; deeply stressed parents; the effects of financial uncertainty; school from home — or from WiFi-equipped school buses if they don't have internet.

Black and Hispanic children are impacted more severely by coronavirus, with higher case rates, hospitalizations and virus-related complications, according to research released this week. These findings mirror similar reports across the nation of adults in minority communities being hit harder by Covid-19.

There's one thing you should know before diving into the conversation around masks: The public should not purchase surgical masks or N95 respirators. Health care workers are facing shortages and need those masks to treat coronavirus patients.

It's a difficult birth for this new decade. The year 2020 kicks off under the shadow of divisive politics, international security threats, a spate of hate crimes, and a planet in environmental peril, plus all the reasons we're stressed individually: work, health problems, life changes and more.