With around 295 million vaccines administered in the United States, people have started to go out of their homes and go about their daily with lesser fear from the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) even released guidelines allowing fully vaccinated adults to go out without wearing a mask two weeks after receiving the final dose.
While many adults received the vaccine, the same cannot be said for young children since the available vaccines are for children who are at least 12 years old. Due to this, you should continue to practice proper health protocols to protect your children from the virus. Here are the things you can do to ensure your children remain healthy during the pandemic.
Promote Handwashing
You should continue to promote handwashing, especially if your children go out of the house. Handwashing prevents any viruses that may have stayed on your children’s hands from infecting them when they touch their faces. Modeling hand washing is a good way for you to encourage them to wash their hands.
You should teach them to wash their hands after they reach home and after touching your pets. You should also teach your children to wash their hands after they handle their face masks or after they sneeze, cough, and blow their noses. Giving them a hand sanitizer is a good idea since soap and water may not be available all the time.
Follow Health Protocols
The CDC issued health guidelines to reduce the risk of getting infected by the virus. The absence of a vaccine for young children means they still have to follow proper health protocols, which means they should wear masks whenever they go out of the house. They should also avoid mingling with people who are a part of their household.
To encourage mask-wearing, you should look for a mask that’s suitable for them. It should not bother them when they wear it, or they will take it off when you are not present. You should have at least two pieces of the mask in case you need to wash one of them.
You should also tell the children not to share personal items with other people. These items include the mask, toys, pencils, drinks, and food.
Rest When Necessary
Children have a lot of energy, but they sometimes tire themselves out. In these instances, you should tell your children to get enough rest every day. When they rest, they keep their body healthy. And a healthy body allows it to repair damage and fight off infections.
The recommended number of hours children should sleep every day depends on their age. It ranges from around ten hours up to 13 hours each day. Younger children need more rest, which consists of the time they sleep at night and their naptime.
You should make sure to enforce a bedtime depending on their age. It’s also important to give them an environment that allows them to sleep properly.
Have a Healthy Diet
Aside from rest, you can keep your children healthy by giving them a healthy diet. So, you have to make sure they get enough vitamins and nutrients every day to prevent diseases and allow their bodies to function properly. A healthy diet includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy products.
You should also avoid giving them too much sugar or beverages with a lot of sugar content. Instead of fruit juice, you can encourage your children to eat fresh or canned fruits. You should also limit their consumption of saturated fats. Encourage your children to eat seafood, avocado, and nuts. You can also substitute chips with fruits and vegetable sticks in case your children want a snack.
Visit the Doctor Regularly
When the pandemic happened, many families had to forego their regular visits to the doctor. You may have delayed these regular visits to the doctor to avoid getting infected. But the current situation now allows you to drop by your children’s pediatrician. You can get that influenza vaccination that you planned to give your children before the pandemic happened.
It’s also important to have your children checked by the pediatrician to see if there were any adverse effects of staying home for over a year. The pediatrician can also recommend some vitamins and supplements that can keep your children fit and healthy.
Aside from the pediatrician, the children should also visit a pediatric dentist to check their teeth. The dental professional can recommend measures to deal with issues on the teeth before they become bigger. And since the virus is still around, you should make sure to follow proper health protocols.
Despite the unavailability of a vaccine for young children, you can still keep them healthy by following health protocols, giving them a balanced diet, and letting them rest whenever necessary.
