As social distancing standards have led to a more virtual existence, both personally as well as professionally, the epidemic has impacted how we work, study, and communicate. The same is true for children. When it is time for the children to discover and embrace the world, they are made to remain locked up in their homes for their protection. A circumstance none of us can back out of or change but take a step forward by taking accurate precautions.
Amongst the topic of safety, children are the most vulnerable subject for every parent. With every corner of the country is surging with infections in 2022, every action we take needs thought for hundred other consequences. Every other week there is an uprising of new variants of the infection and the most alarming one in 2022 is the Omicron variant. As of January 1, 2022, more than 4 in 100,000 children under the age of 5 have been hospitalized in a hospital with Covid-19.
How Covid-19 variant affect children’s health?
Despite the fact that the number of cases of Coronavirus in children was far lower than in adults, the number of pediatric cases was doubling, as was the mortality rate. In 2022, the cases among children saw a surge of about 64%.
There are considerably fewer total instances among children, which is beneficial to them. However, this means we know a lot less about how the disease behaves, spreads, and affects children. And, at best, the information available is limited, and at worst, conflicting.
COVID-19 in children can resemble a cold rather than a respiratory sickness, and it can also be a gastrointestinal illness, causing stomach distress and diarrhea in some children.
Common Symptoms Of Covid Variants Amongst Children
This new wave of Covid19 virus including the variant Omicron, Delta, and others, has similar symptoms among children but the pace of infection spreading has taken a surge. Therefore it is a requirement to know all the symptoms that are common like:
- Cough, fever, or chills
- Breathing difficulties, shortness of breath Congestion, or a runny nose
- Aches in the muscles or throughout the body
- Throat irritation
- New smell or gastronomical weakness
- Diarrhea
- Headache
- New exhaustion
- Vomiting or nausea
Note: Parents and families should be aware that children who are infected with the Coronavirus might have difficulties that require hospitalization and can also spread the infection to others.
Tips To Take Care Of Your Children In 2022 Amid The Covid-19
Even during a pandemic, it is your responsibility as a parent to monitor every element of your child’s development, whether physical, mental or emotional, as well as their safety.
When we talk about safety there are multitudes of things to keep in mind, especially in places your kids keep themselves most busy – at home and school. Having a regular safe practice not only helps them maintain well-being but also assures you to slowly let them fly safely little by little amongst the wave of difficulties.
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General Tips for Children
- When the children are outside or visiting someone, they must wear masks. They may face difficulties breathing if they wear them for a longer time. As a result, it’s critical to keep their outdoor time as limited as possible.
- Vaccination is vital for children since it boosts immunity and protects them against the virus. As a result, make certain that the children get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Practices At Home
Every household has at least one or more family members who go outside frequently or who become the source of bringing the covid virus home. These circumstances are not inescapable, and the only way for children to adjust to them at home is to follow a few basic guidelines. Here is a list of measures to take with your children at home.
Properly Cleaning Themselves
- Every day, the viruses in the air come in touch with children directly or indirectly.
- Washing their body properly can significantly prevent the spread of Covid19 around them at home.
- Advise kids to clean their hands before dining and cooking, touching masks, coughing, sneezing, wiping their noses, handling animals or pets, etc.
- It must be brought into a habit among kids to take a bath at least twice a day and every time they return home from outdoors.
Using Sanitizer Regularly
- Hand cleaning with sanitizers is one of the most effective washing hygiene practices when they come in contact with a guest or any family member at home.
- Choosing child-friendly pocket hand sanitizers, such as 60-100ml pocket hand sanitizer, can give your kids all of the ready-to-shield protection they require without the need to wash their hands in a sink every time.
Cleaning Clothes, Utensils and Toys
- Disinfectants, washing detergents, or any other germ-killing cleaners must be used to wash children’s garments in hot water. Keep in mind that these products should not be overly concentrated or pose a risk to children’s skin.
- When cleaning utensils at home or when visitors come, use baking soda, liquid soap, or vinegar to disinfect them completely and keep children away from harmful cleaners.
- Toys for children must be cleansed with cleansing tissues because any poisonous spray or chemicals could harm them if they put them in their mouths even by accident.
- Everything that is brought into the house must be thoroughly sanitized including wallets, clothes, shopping bags, etc.
Keeping Houses Disinfected
- It is safe to use the COVID-19 virus-fighting products advised at home regularly. Cleaning and sanitizing high-touch surfaces in your house regularly is an essential precaution to take if you have children at home.
- Door knobs, tables, chairs, handrails, kitchen and bathroom surfaces, taps, and other high-touch surfaces are widespread in most homes.
- Read the cleaning product’s directions for safe and effective use, including any precautions you should take when using the product, such as age limitations and sensitivities amongst children.
Social Distancing Amongst Family Members
- If you have family members who go outside regularly, are out for work, or are symptomatic, keep the youngsters at least 10 feet away from them.
- It is usually a good idea to ask the children and those family members to stay in separate rooms and not touch one another’s belongings.
- Ensure that visiting guests from abroad have quarantined themselves before coming in contact with kids.
Practices at school
The most challenging aspect of caring for children during a pandemic is restarting phases of schools. Since the pandemic is still spreading, we must take extra care while sending kids to school. Check out the list of suggestions to include in your daily routine:
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Social Distancing
- COVID-19 is communicated mostly by airborne droplets from an infected person’s cough, sneeze, or spit, thus children should be taught to maintain strict social distance.
- The minimal distance from which the children must be told to remain is 6 feet.
Self-Isolation
It is strongly advised that your children not attend school if they are experiencing symptoms of the novel Coronavirus or have come into touch with an infected individual. This would aid in limiting the virus’s spread.
Washing hands and using Sanitiser
- Sanitizers are convenient, simple to take anywhere, and come in a variety of interesting packaging and scents that will encourage kids to carry around in school.
- They should wash their hands after coming in contact with any surface or person.
Sharing is not always caring
Pandemic has changed the phrase “Sharing is caring”, the kids must be discouraged from unnecessarily exchanging their belongings with classmates as this can easily be a medium for virus transmission.
Traveling on school or public buses
Public/school transport is one of the hotspots for spreading covid infections, whether it seats and handles. Therefore, it is recommended to either drop the kids in your vehicle or encourage covid prevention habits among them.
Tips to Lookout for Children’s Mental Health
The Coronavirus outbreak has several implications, one of which is mental health concerns among children. The COVID-19 epidemic posed a complicated set of issues for everyone, especially children and adolescents, with mental health implications.
Because you’ve been in lockdown for so long, you must understand your child’s concerns and address their issues. Hardships, stresses, uncertainty, lack of social support, over-the-limit screen time, and parental tensions have all had a negative impact on children’s mental health.
Indoor activities can keep youngsters occupied and prevent them from overthinking. Yoga and meditation are two activities that might help youngsters relax stress and provide a change of pace from all of the online sessions. Mental health is a critical component of a child’s healthy development.
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How To Keep Kids Motivated About Taking Precautions Every Day?
Children need constant reminders to keep their hygiene in good health; don’t let yourself down and encourage them every day! Find out how you can keep them motivated:
- By Making posters: You and your children can make awareness posters at home and place them around the house, such as “wash your hands for 20 seconds” by the washbasin, “wear your mask” near the entrance, and so on.
- By memorizing poems and phrases: There is a multitude of popular poems and phrases that are introduced to children to help them remember what they need to do to be healthy.
- Having an open discussion: Having an open conversation with the children about all they should know about the virus will be one of the finest measures to help them go through this pandemic phase.
COVID-19 has lately resulted in the hospitalization of a record number of children. Despite this, health officials claim that many of these children aren’t in the hospital because of COVID-19, but rather because they were accidentally tested positive while being treated for other reasons. Considering this, due to the large number of pediatric COVID-19 cases now being reported, children’s hospitals around the country are noticing an upsurge in the number of children being admitted for COVID-19.
Significant sickness in children is uncommon and even hospitalized children usually recover quickly. Others require intravenous fluids, steroids, and antivirals, among other things. Doctors advise families to wear masks, limit busy areas, and get all eligible kids immunized.
Adults and children should follow the same rules as recommended by the health department. The greatest method to combat this fatal wave is to take precautions as soon as possible. Children are vulnerable yet have proven stronger in this wave. Therefore, with a few necessary steps, we can protect our children from the worst consequences.
Athullya Nair did the research and writing of this article. She is a freelancing member of the Content writing Team of WebCof. Athullya has more than 3 years of experience as a writer & editor in various market verticals such as IT, Fitness, Health, etc.