The U.S. federal government has recently approved the first vaccine against the novel coronavirus. Although immunization is now starting, a widespread rollout of vaccines is still months away. That means mask-wearing, social distancing, and other measures must continue for now. Along with adults, children of all age groups have been significantly affected by restriction measures imposed due to the pandemic. As parents and adults, the responsibility of ensuring kids’ safety has always been important to us. COVID-19 has only made those concerns more intense.
In this blog post, we will discuss some of the most effective ways to ensure the safety of your kids during the pandemic. Whether it’s using the right personal protective equipment or avoiding high-risk public spaces, these measures dramatically reduce the risks of contracting the virus.
1. Encourage to wear a mask
Perhaps nothing protects your kids more from the virus than a face covering. Health experts and government officials from around the world agree on the safety offered by face masks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has repeatedly urged people to wear a mask while stepping out of the house. The same measures go for children as well.
Multiple large-scale clinical trials have concluded that the virus can infect children and cause severe illnesses. By encouraging your kids to properly wear a face mask, you ensure the strongest layer of COVID safety for them.
2. Guide kids to wash hands properly
Handwashing, like mask-wearing, is another crucial element of the safety measures to keep the virus at bay. Although the cases of surface transmission are not fully understood yet, scientists now know that the virus can survive on surfaces for hours. By practicing frequent handwashing, your kids would protect themselves from the risks of getting the virus from surfaces. They can use any soap. Just make sure hands are washed for at least 20 seconds.
3. Practice social distancing
Social distancing has proven as an incredibly effective measure since the beginning of the pandemic. And it must continue at least until the entire population gets a vaccine against the virus. If your kids are getting outside to play, ask them to maintain physical distance from people outside your family.
Research has shown that respiratory droplets carrying the virus can travel up to 6 feet in indoor environments. Maintaining social distancing measures becomes particularly crucial if you are not wearing personal protective equipment like masks. Health officials across the U.S. have continually urged people to avoid gatherings and maintain social distancing in public spaces.
4. Address mental health challenges
Multiple surveys conducted across the world have suggested that children are facing intense stress due to the pandemic. The most significant stressors include isolation, drastic changes in lifestyles, and substantially reduced in-person interactions with other kids. As a parent or grown-up sibling, you must carefully address this mental health crisis faced by almost every child. If you notice stressful behavior in your kid despite intervention, talk to a psychologist or pediatrician.
5. Stay informed about tests & vaccines
Since the onset of the virus, more and more people are actively following the news. Yet we tend to miss critical updates about the virus. It’s because we are being continually bombarded with new pieces of information about the virus. Scientists, too, are learning new things and gaining new insights with every passing week.
As countries around the world start to approve vaccines against the virus, the storm of information is likely to continue for some time. And you must be able to distill the information that is critical to COVID safety.
Besides, you need to follow public health officials and local governments about new guidelines. Federal agencies and local governments periodically update their guidelines based on the latest information about the crisis.
Conclusion
Protecting your kids from the highly-transmissible virus takes lots of relentless effort. But if you follow these measures consistently, it would be comparatively less painful. Plus, with these safety measures in place, you can have a feeling of superior safety both for your children and yourself. Along with steps, also make sure that you always buy masks and other products from trusted PPE suppliers and manufacturers. By now, most of us know the drill: handwashing, mask-wearing, and social distancing. Combined with these other safety measures will bolster the safety shield for your kids.
