When you talk about vacations, the first thing that comes to a kid’s mind is the long endless hours they get to spend in the playground. However, given the scare around coronavirus schools have shut down, leaving parents unsure about what their children can and can’t do. Is it a good idea to let your child go out and play with friends? Keeping social distancing priority would mean an end to their playtime. Parents are thinking twice before sending their kid off to the park or the playground and rightly so.
Are Parks safe?
Although social distancing is the need of the hour, it can be a daunting task to make the little ones understand how crucial it is. But, since it is integral to maintain good hygiene and eliminate infection risks related to COVID-19 and teach the same to your kids.
Should You Let Your Kids Go to the Playground?
The government has advised strict social distancing, implying that all people (kids included) stay six feet apart from each other at all times. Outdoor games that children play such as basketball, cricket, or football or any close contact sport for that matter, are ideally not meant to be played in times of crisis.
Playground Breeding Spot for Germs
When it comes to budding children, 30-40 minutes of physical activity and playtime is super healthy, but it can be hard to make sure kids are practicing good hygiene at all times. As playgrounds and parks are visited by a lot of people daily which is why it can be a breeding house of germs and bacteria and viruses which can transmit through various forms. Another fact that remains is that parks and grounds are disinfected way less than your home or any other public utility space.
Young children are more often than not very careful about their hygiene habits, Germs can easily transmit through their mucus or saliva. When kids pick their noses, touch gross surfaces, touch their faces, these germs linger on for days at an end. Birds and animals can leave their fecal residue thereby, increasing the risk of sensitive infections in kids.
Given these circumstances, it is advisable to let your kids out in the sunshine for some time to take a stroll or run to stay active once in a while.
Do Kids Catch Coronavirus?
Although globally, the number of cases recorded of children being admitted with coronavirus run low, it just doesn’t mean that kids can’t fall prey to the infection. They come in the low-risk category than adults and the elderly. Children show only mild to low symptoms and can act as carriers and transmit the virus onto a parent or another adult. Therefore, ensuring their supervision becomes all the more diligent and important.
What Should You Do?
To omit all chances of catching coronavirus all together, it is best if you make decisions as a family and limit your contact with the outside world. This doesn’t simply mean isolating yourself (or your child) from the world, try and look for other forms of entertainment to indulge in and make then most of the family time. Pick from board games, indoor play, book reading, family movie time or using this quarantine time as a time to reflect and bond.
