Saturday, 24 October 2020 | PNS | Dehradun
With the government deciding to open the schools in a phased manner from November 1 after more than seven months since they were closed due to the pandemic of Covid-19, the experts are concerned about the psychological impact of the move on the students and parents. Worried about the safety of their wards, large numbers of parents are reluctant to send them to school and at the same time are concerned about their studies also. The experts at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh believe that the parents will have to pay special attention to the physical and mental development of children who have been confined to homes from the last seven months. The director of AIIMS Rishikesh, Ravikant said that it is natural for the parents to question the impact of the disease and get worried about the safety of children. “The children should be encouraged to wash their hands frequently with soap in the schools and they should be allowed to play under sunlight while maintaining necessary physical distancing for vitamin D synthesis in them,’’ he said. The experts opine that lack of vitamin D in children is natural during these times as the children were not able to get out of their homes in the last many months. According to experts, a child needs 600 units of vitamin D per day and exposure of 30 minutes in sunlight is essential for Vitamin D synthesis.
The doctors of the Department of Community and family Medicine of the institute suggest parents, in the initial days, should motivate children to send them to school with more love and emotional attachment than before. In order to get into the habit of going to school again, children should be asked to start with important lectures so that they can gradually adjust themselves to suit the school time. Assistant Professor Meenakshi Khapre said that it is important to get the energy of the children channelized and for it they can be involved in play, drawing, painting, acting, gardening, cooking and house cleaning. She added that parents should react to the children’s thoughts and feelings.
