DO’S AND DONT’S FOR PARENTS FOR THEIR CHILDREN/TEENAGERS WHO CAN NOT BE VACCINATED?

Dr Mansi Joneja, Specialist Internal Medicine, MWCH 

As a parent, it's surely been hard to watch your teen's social life take place primarily on the screens of their devices. Future variants could cause more severe effects in children, and the long-term effects of Covid-19 are unclear. A cautious approach may be especially sensible for families in which the children have underlying health conditions, or some adults have chosen not to be vaccinated.

 Do's & Dont's For Parents with Unvaccinated Child

• Make sure to vaccinate each and everyone in the community who can be vaccinated.
• Teach children to wash hands frequently with soap and water or use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol
• Children should be taught to avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
• Always encourage and supervise children to wear masks as much as possible
• Children surrounded by adults should also wear masks, to keep themselves protected from contracting the disease from others
• Avoid indoor gatherings / indoor spaces/ crowds/poorly ventilated spaces
• Keep children 6 feet away from people 
• Children should be taught to cover their face with a tissue while coughing or sneezing and throw the tissue in the closest garbage bin and wash hands immediately
• Parents must limit their child’s interaction with other children and adults outside of childcare and school. Follow these tips for schools & parents can do for children during covid-19 for more clarity
• Avoid in person playtime for children if, however they meet to play, they should be in very small numbers and outdoors
• Their routine health care visits to the doctor and vaccination visits should not be deferred even in this Covid- 19 pandemic
• Parents must encourage children to be physically active to improve physical and mental health