Johannesburg - Covid-19 has changed lives, possibly forever.
Last year, when schools were closed, both parents and children needed to cope with homeschooling.
Now, as the new school year begins, we need to make sure that we have done, and continue to do, everything we can to protect our children and to encourage them to benefit from their school days, said Jackie Maimin, chief executive of the Independent Community Pharmacists Association.
“During the lockdown, many children missed their routine vaccines. Before school opens, make sure that your children have received all the necessary vaccines.
“Remember to deworm your children, and their pets, regularly. This contributes to children’s general health, which helps them to cope with school work,” Maimin said.
“Although good nutrition can provide all the nutrients that growing children need, these are very stressful times. There are times when it will be useful to give children multivitamin preparations. Speak to your pharmacist about multivitamins that would be suitable for your child.”
According to Maimin, returning to school can be traumatic for parents and children alike.
Therefore, she said, parents must minimise stress by having a checklist that can be followed every day. They should also involve the children in packing their school bags for you to check. Remember to include hand sanitiser in a container that the child can manage, a spare mask and a bottle of water.
Other advice is to help your child to develop the habit of practising good hand hygiene during routine activities, said Maimin.
“Explain to your child why this is important and encourage hand-washing before and after eating, sneezing, coughing and adjusting a mask. “You can even challenge your children to find a new song to sing while washing hands – by now they’re probably so bored with singing “Happy birthday” twice that they’ve given up doing it.“
Parents need to reinforce the concept of physical distancing, which is sometimes very difficult for young children. The use of hula hoops at some schools has been very useful to demonstrate safe distances to children.
The most important way that a parent or caregiver can prepare their children for going back to school safely is to be a good role model.
“Take care of yourself as well. Show your child that you get plenty of sleep, eat well and exercise regularly.
“By involving children in taking breaks and participating in Zoom or WhatsApp calls, you can show them that even while being physically distanced, you can still be connected to family and friends,” concluded Maimin.
The Star