BEST IDEAS AND BETTER TIPS

Best Parenting Advice.com:

Kids and COVID 19

So what does current information tell us that reduces risk and what information do our children need to know:

1. Keep your contact with others as minimal as practically possible. This includes:

Avoiding non-essential gatherings.
Reducing non-essential lessons, activities, outings
Avoiding all social contact (e.g. shaking hands, hugging and kissing)
Maintain an absolute minimum of 1.5 metre distance between yourself and others where ever possible
Make any necessary contact within a crowded situation as short as possible
Avoid contact with the elderly
Avoid those who appear unwell (e.g. coughing)
Wearing a mask may assist in the reduction of virus spread

4. Prevention is easier than dealing with a problem once it arises. In addition to all of the above mentioned strategies here are some of the things I've been doing:

I became fully-vaccinated
I stay home during lockdown and I don't have visitors to my house
I have food delivered or if I must go to the supermarket I wash any shopping trolley handles with sanitizer before I shop. When I get food home delivered, I wipe packaging over with bleach solution before bringing it into the house
If I've had to enter a high risk area, on returning home, I have a shower and wash my hair immediately. And I put any clothes I'm wearing into the wash
If anyone is coughing or sneezing I avoid them. I would even change queues if necessary
And I stand well back from those ahead of me in a supermarket queue, vaccination queue, etc

Note please the following is my personal opinion only and you need to carefully consider what you are going to do:

In Australia we've been in the privileged position to have learnt from successes and failures overseas.

I trust what the world's scientists, medical professionals and those who have lived through having the virus have said. I am now fully-vaccinated. Although initially hesitant I chose to do it to protect children, who can't be vaccinated, as well as to protect myself.

As parents, check out what has happened elsewhere in the world for yourself and make informed choices about what risks you're willing to take, both with your health, your children's health and your extended family's health.

For more information on how to explain this virus to children so they understand the importance of hygiene and social distancing, yet without making them feel anxious, check out the following link

Explaining COVID 19 to Kids

There are often parts of your hands that can be missed while washing them. These are more often:

the webbing in between the fingers
if you're right-handed the right thumb and if you're left-handed the left thumb
the fourth finger (ring finger)
finger tips and nails
the creases in hands
wrists (including under bangles and watches)

Washing your hands is very important to protect yourself. Just for a moment pretend you're washing your hands. Really examine what you do. Have you missed any areas. Then check how your children wash their hands as well.

You may be missing some of the areas highlighted.

Encourage your child to want to keep their hands clean and to know how to do it properly

They too can have magically clean hands

2. To help prevent infection maintain:

Frequent handwashing for at least 20 seconds (2 times Happy Birthday has been advised as a guide to the length of time required to thoroughly clean hands)
Hand sanitizing regimen if no hand washing facilities are available
No touching of your face including eyes, nose and mouth
Regular cleaning and disinfecting of any common hard surfaces that are used such as door handles, benches, cistern button and toilet seats

3. To help prevent the spread of infection:

If you're ill stay home: Symptoms of COVID 19 include: a runny nose, sore throat, fever, aches, breathlessness, reduction of sense of smell/taste. And in some cases vomiting or diarrhoea
If they're ill keep your children home from school or day care.
If members of your family become ill, wherever possible keep them isolated from other members of the family, ideally in a room where you can close the door
Cough into elbows rather than hands
Any tissues used need to be immediately discarded into a plastic lined bin and hands need to be sanitized
If you have a second bathroom you could isolate bathroom use for those affected and those not affected
Wipe over any door handles, surfaces touched
Use gloves, if you have them, to clean up
Regularly wash your hands and encourage regular hand washing by all family members

We are currently facing a health situation that we've not experienced in modern times. And data is only just becoming available on how COVID 19 affects children.

It appears children affected by COVID 19 may present with lesser symptoms than adults. But something to consider is, how adversely affected are children going to be if their parents or grandparents succumb to COVID 19?

With many other viruses children can be the perfect vectors to spread disease. Their levels of hygiene and social spacing can be lower than adults. Be responsible. If children are sick you likely don't know whether they have COVID 19 or not. If your children are ill, keep them at home.

And if you've come into contact with a known COVID 19 case, stay in isolation as requested by the health department. Thoughtlessness can kill. If you break isolation guidelines, you could be risking hundreds of lives, maybe more, due to compounding effects. Thousands of recent cases in NSW Australia, that then went on to spread to other states, allegedly came from just one person.

When Bad Stuff Happens: Next

Best Parenting Advice.com is a high quality parenting website designed with child and family success in mind. It highlights what successful parents do differently to those who struggle. Best Parenting advice.com provides free online resources for busy parents who want the best practical advice on: how to give kids a best start in life, better tips for parenting toddlers, effective child rearing strategies, behaviour management tips, successful goal setting and organizational strategies for successful families, easy family dinner recipes, self-care tips for time-poor parents and free kids learning games. The aim of Best Parenting Advice.com is to provide quality practical parenting tips and advice to best help children and families succeed, using the convenience of a website.

This website provides examples of what worked for me over decades and you are welcome to use these ideas as you see fit but you do so at your own risk. Best Parenting Advice.com does not provide any guarantee that this information will work in every circumstance with every family or with every child. It is your responsibility as a user of this website to ensure that you adhere to any recommended safety suggestions either implicit or explicit on this site and supervise your children while playing any games suggested. Similarly users of this website are advised to follow any recommendations for seeking professional advice as all information on this site is generic. Best Parenting Advice.com is an independent website and is not affiliated with any other groups, clubs, religious organizations or educational systems.

Best parenting takes time. The best parenting advice ever is simple: Do your best, don't give up and love your children, no matter what.

...Simple Steps to Successful Parenting

BEST IDEAS AND BETTER TIPS

Best Parenting Advice.com:

Kids and COVID 19

So what does current information tell us that reduces risk and what information do our children need to know:

​

1. Keep your contact with others as minimal as practically possible. This includes:

Avoiding non-essential gatherings.

Reducing non-essential lessons, activities, outings

Avoiding all social contact (e.g. shaking hands, hugging and kissing)

Maintain an absolute minimum of 1.5 metre distance between yourself and others where ever possible

Make any necessary contact within a crowded situation as short as possible

Avoid contact with the elderly

Avoid those who appear unwell (e.g. coughing)

Wearing a mask may assist in the reduction of virus spread

​

4. Prevention is easier than dealing with a problem once it arises. In addition to all of the above mentioned strategies here are some of the things I've been doing:

​

I became fully-vaccinated

I stay home during lockdown and I don't have visitors to my house

I have food delivered or if I must go to the supermarket I wash any shopping trolley handles with sanitizer before I shop. When I get food home delivered, I wipe packaging over with bleach solution before bringing it into the house

If I've had to enter a high risk area, on returning home, I have a shower and wash my hair immediately. And I put any clothes I'm wearing into the wash

If anyone is coughing or sneezing I avoid them. I would even change queues if necessary

And I stand well back from those ahead of me in a supermarket queue, vaccination queue, etc

​

​

​

Note please the following is my personal opinion only and you need to carefully consider what you are going to do:

​

In Australia we've been in the privileged position to have learnt from successes and failures overseas.

I trust what the world's scientists, medical professionals and those who have lived through having the virus have said. I am now fully-vaccinated. Although initially hesitant I chose to do it to protect children, who can't be vaccinated, as well as to protect myself.

As parents, check out what has happened elsewhere in the world for yourself and make informed choices about what risks you're willing to take, both with your health, your children's health and your extended family's health.

​

​

For more information on how to explain this virus to children so they understand the importance of hygiene and social distancing, yet without making them feel anxious, check out the following link

​

There are often parts of your hands that can be missed while washing them. These are more often:

the webbing in between the fingers

if you're right-handed the right thumb and if you're left-handed the left thumb

the fourth finger (ring finger)

finger tips and nails

the creases in hands

wrists (including under bangles and watches)

​

Washing your hands is very important to protect yourself. Just for a moment pretend you're washing your hands. Really examine what you do. Have you missed any areas. Then check how your children wash their hands as well.

You may be missing some of the areas highlighted.

2. To help prevent infection maintain:

Frequent handwashing for at least 20 seconds (2 times Happy Birthday has been advised as a guide to the length of time required to thoroughly clean hands)

Hand sanitizing regimen if no hand washing facilities are available

No touching of your face including eyes, nose and mouth

Regular cleaning and disinfecting of any common hard surfaces that are used such as door handles, benches, cistern button and toilet seats

​

3. To help prevent the spread of infection:

If you're ill stay home: Symptoms of COVID 19 include: a runny nose, sore throat, fever, aches, breathlessness, reduction of sense of smell/taste. And in some cases vomiting or diarrhoea

If they're ill keep your children home from school or day care.

If members of your family become ill, wherever possible keep them isolated from other members of the family, ideally in a room where you can close the door

Cough into elbows rather than hands

Any tissues used need to be immediately discarded into a plastic lined bin and hands need to be sanitized

If you have a second bathroom you could isolate bathroom use for those affected and those not affected

Wipe over any door handles, surfaces touched

Use gloves, if you have them, to clean up

Regularly wash your hands and encourage regular hand washing by all family members

​

​