Source: The Indian Express
Whether future waves of COVID-19 will affect children more or with increased harshness are all speculations, a senior pediatrician said on Wednesday.Praveen Kumar, Director, Department of Pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi said people speculate that future waves may affect children more as most of the adults will be vaccinated in the next few months while there is still no approved vaccine for children at this point in time.
On how the pandemic has pretentious children’s mental and physical health, Kumar said pandemic can have a severe effect on children’s mental and physical health. They are limited at home for more than a year.
Moreover, illnesses in the family, wage losses for parents have increased stress. Children may express psychological suffering (sadness) by acting out in a different way. Each child behaves differently, some may become silent while others may express anger and hyperactivity.
“Caregivers need to be patient with children and understand their emotions. Look for signs of stress in young children, which could be extreme worry or sadness, unhealthy eating or sleeping habits, and difficulty with attention and concentration. Families also need to support children to cope with stress and also allay their anxiety,” he was quoted as saying in a Health Ministry statement.
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