So, what do you do if the parent is positive with COVID-19? In that case, the only route is practicing parenting with COVID-19. While in quarantine, there are times when coming in contact with the baby or things that the baby or other family members will also come in contact with becomes inevitable. However, there are certain measures you can put in place to ensure nobody else contracts the virus. It is paramount to follow these religiously. Also, there is a profound need to be extra cautious until the doctor confirms that the infected parent has fully recovered, especially as regards to areas you are not knowledgeable in.
RELATED: Singing With Your Kid In the Bathroom
Have A Helper
When parenting with COVID-19, you cannot perform all the activities required for caring for your child. Whether it is bathing them, cleaning their room, cooking their food, washing their clothes, etc. All these activities should be done by someone other than the person with the virus, so you need to consider getting a helper. A close family member should be able to look out for both you and the kid until the doctor says you’re ready to do these things yourself – that’s when you’ve fully recovered. You need to ensure this person knows the baby bath basics and if they don’t then teach them the important infant baby bathing tips.
RELATED: Using A Baby Bath Sink Insert
Don’t Sleep Together
When parenting with COVID-19, follow all the daily preventive measures, don’t make your efforts null and void by sleeping in the same room with your kids. You obviously shouldn’t sleep on the same bed. You shouldn’t sleep together at any time at all, whether it is on the couch or bed. They also shouldn’t come into contact with the bed you’ve slept in. You also need to have your bedsheets laundered with hot water and air-dried to facilitate your quick recovery. The general idea is to make sure no one else comes in contact with things you have, while you also try to maintain optimum hygiene.
Breastfeeding When Parenting WithCOVID-19
When parenting with COVID-19, a mother can safely breastfeed her baby without transferring the coronavirus to it. This is because breast milk plays an insignificant role in the transfer of respiratory diseases, as has also been recorded with other cases of such. However, she still needs to follow the baby bath basics, and other safety measures to ensure she does not transfer the virus. The breastfeeding mother needs to use a face mask whenever she breastfeeds the baby and she also needs to wash her hands properly before and after breastfeeding the baby. The baby should also be properly covered. In other cases, she can dispense the milk into a feeding bottle and have someone else feed the baby.
Feeding Your Child
A coronavirus positive mother should never cook for her children, or anyone else for that matter. It is utterly unsafe and increases the risk of transferring the virus to anyone that eats the meal. There is no evidence that the virus can be transmitted through food, but the simple handling of utensils and other items in the kitchen could spread the virus. She should have someone else do the cooking. A person who is in quarantine due to COVID-19 is generally not advised to care for another person in that way and is herself required to have someone help with caring for her. Ordering food from restaurants is one option but care should also be taken with this.
Regular Preventive Measures When
There are regular preventive measures to follow for the reduction of the risk of transferring the novel coronavirus in the home. These include cleaning all surfaces an infected person comes in contact with regularly, having them wear a face mask correctly, having them sleep in a different bedroom from everyone else, and also use a different bathroom. Their clothes and bed sheets also need to be laundered with hot water. The most important one is to ensure they keep a distance from non-infected individuals and when they do come near anyone it should be the person caring for them. Otherwise, any other contact would be unnecessary.
RELATED: Small Bathroom Organization Tips
Emotional Reassurance
Children need emotional reassurance. They may tend to panic when they discover their mother has the deadly virus that has caused the closure of their schools and society at large. When parenting with COVID-19 you need to reassure them that you will get through this just fine. You should listen to them tell you their concerns and try to alleviate their worries. Without emotional reassurance, you run the risk of having your kids panic out of proportion, which would make their days in isolation utterly unbearable. There is no need for them to have to go through all that, and you can stop it with a few kind words of reassurance.
Mommy Time
When parenting with COVID-19 your kid’s safety comes first and should be your number one priority, especially when the risk of them contracting the coronavirus comes this close. But that does not mean you won’t have time for them. That too is important. There are ways you to create bonding time for your kids (if they are 5 years or older). A virtual video call is one way. You could converse from your room while they are in another room. If your kid is an infant then you would may have to forgo this but you can still try. It’s very possible that simply seeing your face and hearing your voice will be comforting to your baby.
Hand Sanitizers And Soap
Apart from following the daily infant baby bathing tips for your kids hygiene, an infected individual in the house must maintain optimum hygiene while still in isolation. However, you risk transferring the virus via mediums you are not even aware of – sometimes high traffic areas that escape your mind. That is why non-infected persons, need to wash their hands with soap and water frequently and if it isn’t convenient then an alcohol-based hand sanitizer should be used to disinfect their hands. The more frequently this is done, the less the chances that your kid will contract the novel coronavirus from you. Ensure they do so as frequently as possible.
Face Cover For Kids
If your child is older than 2 years you need to have them wear cloth masks whenever you are around them to avoid the transfer of the virus from you to them. Ensure your child is never alone while wearing one of these. If you have someone around to help out, then ensure that person does not leave your child alone at any time while the child has a cloth face covering on to avoid the risk of accidental suffocation. You should also keep in mind that having a cloth face covering for your kid does not mean it is safe for you to come close to them.
Recovery
Even when parenting with COVID-19, you may gradually begin to feel better after a while once you follow all the hygiene tips. You are advised against drawing conclusions based on self-evaluation. That is, thinking you have recovered without a professional examination. Regularly visit your doctor to have yourself examined. Until the doctor says you are ready to associate with your family again, you are strongly advised against doing so of your accord. If you do, then all your efforts may as well come to nothing. Even though you may be eager to be with your child again, you don’t want to be in a hurry when parenting with COVID-19.
NEXT: 10 Essential Baby Items
