Self-quarantine, sequestering, and social distancing are all concepts that have new meaning to us, now that we are living through a severe global pandemic with COVID-19. The world has shut down, and as of right now, no one knows when we can return to our regular activities.
While most of these habits can apply to patients of all ages, we want to be sure that our young patients are particularly staying healthy and safe during these uncertain times. With our dental team not being able to see individuals for regular check-ups, it is important that we keep our patients staying healthy overall, so we can help keep their oral health in check as well.
Here are four healthy habits your kids need to adopt during these uncertain times:
Washing Those Little Hands
Washing our hands is probably one of the most critical habits our patients need to be doing right now on a consistent basis. Every day we touch hundreds of surfaces, then without even knowing, proceed to eat a chip, touch our face, or rub our eyes. To prevent these surfaces from transferring germs to our kid’s bodies, we need to be diligent in having them wash their hands at crucial times throughout the day; including when they come into the house, before they eat, after going to the bathroom, after they cough or sneeze, and in between as needed. This simple act can help prevent diarrhea, respiratory infections, as well as viruses.
Do Not Touch Your Face
This suggestion will be harder than it sounds, as we all tend to touch our faces throughout the day, often without even knowing it. While the touching of our faces inside our homes may be one thing, this habit becomes essential when we are out in public touching surfaces that may be contaminated. It is a good idea to create awareness by making it a game. Everyone starts with five points. Then you lose a point every time someone catches you touching your face. It can be clever to set up fun incentives for those that touch their face the least. The idea is to make sure everyone understands that the ultimate goal is to make each family member more aware of when and how often they touch their face. That way, we can all be winners in preventing germs from spreading.
Cover Your Sneezes and Coughs
This habit is for the safety of other family members and those around you. Learning to cover our coughs and sneezes is extremely important in curbing the spread of viruses and harmful bacteria. We recommend that kids sneeze or cough into their elbow if they are not near soap and water. If they are able to wash their hands right away, we suggest sneezing or coughing into their hands, followed immediately by washing.
The 6-Foot Rule
With young active children, staying inside 100% of the time is just not realistic. Of course, we all need the benefits of exercise and Vitamin D to keep us healthy and happy. However, be sure your kids know about the 6-foot rule and how that helps stop the spread of viruses. It is important to inform children that we need to do our part to protect those individuals that are older or immune-compromised and not as able to fight the germs.
We hope you found these healthy habits to be helpful, as we want to ensure that all of our wonderful patients and their families are staying healthy and safe! We cannot wait to see all of those adorable smiling faces in our office once again soon. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our office.
