Parents need to know, this is preparation for face-to-face school

Face-to-face school implementation policy

It should be noted, however, that not all schools are allowed to implement direct learning activities. This is because schools must meet the six requirements in the following checklist:

Availability of proper sanitation and hygiene, such as clean toilets, means of washing hands with soap with running water or hand sanitizer , and disinfectants
Ability to access health service facilities
Readiness of schools to implement mandatory masks
The school has a temperature measuring device (thermogun)
The school has a community mapping of the education unit as follows:
- Data on the comorbidity of teachers, students and other school administrators were not controlled
- Do not have safe transportation access
- Have a travel history from the Covid-19 red zone area or a history of contact with a Covid-19 positive patient and have not completed independent isolation
Approval of the school committee or parent / guardian's representative

If your child's school meets all six of the checklists above, your child's school may be open to face-to-face learning.

However, if there is one of the points, for example the approval from the school committee or parent / guardian's representative is not fulfilled, then it is likely that your child will continue to learn from home.

Prepares children for face-to-face school

If in the end your child is required to go to school in person, immediately make preparations to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission. Here are some ways to prepare children before learning activities at school take place.

Make sure your child gets an adequate night's sleep before going to school
Tell children that there are changes in face-to-face school activities amid the pandemic, and that these changes are being made to keep the child and everyone around him healthy
Give understanding and discuss with children about the information circulating about Covid-19, and encourage children to tell you or their teachers about their feelings during the face of the pandemic
Teach children about good habits during a pandemic such as how to wash their hands properly, cover their mouths when coughing and sneezing, staying at home when they are not feeling well, and using masks in public places
Encourage children to pay attention to the cleanliness of the food and drink they consume, and teach children not to share the same eating utensils with others
Teach children not to belittle other people who are sick during the Covid-19 pandemic

Face-to-face school preparation for early childhood or kindergarten age children

For children aged PAUD or kindergarten, you can teach good habits in the midst of a pandemic with different approaches, such as:

Providing masks with motifs that children like so that they feel comfortable wearing them.
When teaching how to wash your hands properly, use an analogy glitter as bacteria that stick to the hands of children. Put it down glitter in the child's hands and wash the child's hands only with water. Then, explain that it's still there glitter attached. For that, they have to wash it with running water and agar soap glitter or the bacteria are gone.
Teach children to sing while washing their hands, such as with the song "Happy Birthday" which is repeated twice for 20 seconds.
When teaching coughs and sneezes, use a spray bottle and show them how far germs and viruses can spread if we don't cover coughs / sneezes.

In general, always encourage children to follow health protocols outside the home, especially at school. Starting from wearing a mask, washing your hands with running water and soap for 20 seconds or hand sanitizer with an alcohol content of 60%, and maintain a minimum distance of 1.5 meters from other people.

Most importantly, make sure you always monitor the health of your child at home. If the child shows symptoms of certain diseases, let the child stay at home and not go to school. If necessary, take the child to the doctor for further examination.

Overcoming sick children during a pandemic

In addition to preparing and teaching children to follow health protocols during face-to-face school, parents also need to prepare themselves to face other possibilities that may occur, such as a child who falls ill.

One of the diseases that are susceptible to attacking children during a pandemic is fever. No need to worry, fever in children can be overcome by giving drugs containing ibuprofen.

Apart from fever, ibuprofen can also relieve pain and inflammation, which can not be relieved by other fever medications such as paracetamol.

You can give your child the ibuprofen fever medicine in the form of a syrup with an orange or strawberry flavor that kids like.

The ibuprofen fever medicine in the form of syrup can work quickly within 30 minutes to reduce fever. This type of drug also has a long-lasting medicinal effect (giving enough 6-8 hours), so that children and parents can rest more calmly.

However, if the fever in a child does not go away within two days and is accompanied by other symptoms, especially symptoms of Covid-19, it is recommended that you consult a doctor.

If needed, you can immediately do a swab test to find out the condition of your family during this pandemic.

Safety profile of using ibuprofen during a pandemic

Previously, there was a study published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine Journal regarding the prohibited use of ibuprofen because it can worsen the symptoms of Covid-19, one of which is fever.

However, this study is considered invalid, because there are several other studies that state the opposite. For example, research from the Public Health Emergency COVID-19 Initiative and Chest Journal.

In brief, these two studies suggest that ibuprofen has not been shown to worsen symptoms of Covid-19. The research presented by the study from the Lancet is considered irrelevant.

The National Health Service also confirmed that there is no valid evidence that using ibuprofen to treat symptoms such as high temperature can exacerbate Covid-19.

Therefore, you don't need to worry anymore if you want to give ibuprofen to treat a child who has a fever during a pandemic. Don't forget to always follow the directions for use before taking any type of drug such as ibuprofen.