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3 Ways to Keep Your Child Healthy Through a Pandemic
With the number of cases of COVID-19 continuously increasing this year, virtually everyone’s health is at risk. Whether you’re a younger adult tending to your family or you’re more experienced in life, COVID-19 can negatively affect any one of us. Despite its more common occurrence in older adults, younger adults and even children are even at risk as well. But what can we do to keep our children safe and healthy?
Some school systems have completely closed down their physical learning experiences, offering fully online classes. But other schools still remain open with strict guidelines to help prevent the spreading of the 2020 virus. Whether your child is attending school physically or they’re home with you learning on their laptop or other technological devices, there are some things that you can do to further keep your child safe from the virus. And here are a few of them.
Teach Them Sanitary Habits
It’s extremely important that all of us engage in sanitary habits and behaviors to help both limits the spread of the virus and prevent ourselves from getting it. Making sure that we practice and maintain these habits is vital to limiting the spread of the virus, but it can be difficult to get used to certain behaviors. That’s why it’s beneficial to teach your children the proper techniques for effective sanitation. For instance, you’ll want to teach them to properly wash their hands. Some adults today aren’t even aware of the proper way to wash their hands, so make sure that your children know to scrub under their nails, use plenty of soap and wash their hands for a full 30 seconds at least.
Additionally, you’ll want to make sure your kids know how to properly wear a mask. Even when walking in stores and out in public now, you may see others wearing their mask with either their nose or even their mouth exposed, but this doesn’t provide full protection from potentially breathing in unsanitary air. Teaching kids to always wear their masks can be challenging since they don’t particularly like things on their faces, but it’s vital to both theirs and others’ safety. Even more, you’ll want to ensure they know to always keep a safe distance from others while in public and to always properly cover their coughs and sneezes (1).
Engage in Healthy Activities
In order for our bodies to remain happy and healthy, it’s important that we engage in healthy practices and behaviors. This includes the foods we eat, drinks we consume and the activities we physically engage in throughout the day. You can help to keep your child healthy by making sure that they drink plenty of water throughout the day. With soda and all of the other sugary drinks available on the market, the last thing most kids want to drink is water, but it’s important for maintaining a healthy immune system.
Even more, you should make sure that your kids receive plenty of fruits and vegetables as well. Fruits and vegetables are high in nutrients, helping to provide your body with the energy to fight off any virus your child is exposed to. As for physical activity, you’ll want to keep your child moving throughout the day. It’s easy for children to want to lay around and watch the TV all day, but they should at least get one hour of physical activity every day. Either take the dog for a walk or simply do some work around the house (1).
Schedule Healthcare Visits
Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that your child attends all of their healthcare visits. Keep an eye out for any possible symptoms of the coronavirus and remain in close contact with your child’s pediatric doctor. Make sure that your child receives all of the vaccines that your doctor recommends, and ensure that you let your doctor know of any possible concerns that you have throughout this global pandemic. It is also important to check the pediatrics review and certification prep.
Overall, it’s a difficult time for everyone right now, at least with attempting to manage the new and uncomfortable situations that the pandemic has placed over us. But with positive attitudes and the right knowledge, we can all limit the spread of the virus and keep everyone safe. Make sure that your children know how to properly prevent the spread of the disease by maintaining sanitary practices, engaging in healthy activities, and attending all of their healthcare visits.
