4 Tips to Protect Your Child's Health in Lockdown

It’s a tough time for parents at the moment. With your children spending a lot more time indoors, your parenting responsibilities are through the roof. You have to help them with online education and keep them entertained, all while dealing with your own personal and professional duties.


4 Tips to Protect Your Child's Health in Lockdown

 

But you also have the added duty of making sure they are as healthy as possible. In normal times, your kids would be running around the playground and playing games with their friends almost constantly. But with lockdowns and government restrictions sweeping the country, they are now stuck at home all the time. This means they’re getting less exercise than they’re used to and are spending more time on their phones or playing video games. The lockdown may also be taking a toll on their mental health as they’re unable to see their friends and roam freely outdoors. 

As a parent, it’s your responsibility to look after your child’s mental and physical health. And there are several things you can do to keep them fit and active throughout lockdown. Here are four tips to get you started. 

Stay active

Without regular PE lessons and excursions with other kids in the neighborhood, you might have to get a little creative to keep them active. Take them out on long walks, runs, or bike rides each day, and keep it fun by exploring new areas of your local area. You could even try some free online workout videos together to keep the whole family sweating. Avoid letting your child sit down for too long all day, as this can lead to back problems and you may end up having to take them to a pediatric or kids chiropractor before long. 

Limit technology usage

It’s easy to keep a bored child entertained by thrusting a smartphone or iPad at them, but this is encouraging unhealthy behaviors. Even before the global pandemic, children worldwide were becoming addicted to technology, and this has only become worse in recent months. Although there’s nothing wrong with them keeping in touch with their friends or playing a videogame to wind down, it shouldn’t form the bulk of their day. Limit their device usage to no more than a couple of hours each day and make time for more wholesome activities like playing board games as a family or reading books.

Help them stay in touch

Even though your little one may not be able to hang out with their friends, there are still ways for them to keep in touch. Perhaps you could talk to the parents of their classmates and organize a Zoom get-together so they can all catch up and pretend life is back to normal for a few moments.

Reassure them

You might think your child is perfectly at ease with the current global events, but there’s a good chance they are feeling just as unsettled as you. Although you don’t want to scare them too much, it’s important to let them understand what’s going on and reassure them that things will eventually be back to normal. 

3 comments

  1. These are great tips. I know we all are going stir crazy.

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  2. So important to support your child's mental and physical health during this time!

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  3. I totally agree with this advice! Thank you for sharing!

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