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Home > Portable Practical Pediatrics > Are You Mitigating the Legacy of Covid-19 on Your Children (Pedcast)
Podcast: Portable Practical Pediatrics
Episode:

Are You Mitigating the Legacy of Covid-19 on Your Children (Pedcast)
Category: Kids & family
Duration: 00:11:30
Publish Date: 2020-05-24 09:48:19
Description: Want to learn how to minimize the effects of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on your children? Stay tuned and I'll give you my perspective. Photograph Provided by Pixabay Images Musical Introduction Mark Twain, the great American humorist, was a keen observer of humans and society. He noticed things over a hundred years ago that are relevant today. He observed, and I quote, "The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog." ~ Mark Twain   Well, I am beginning to agree with him.  Just watching as things unfold during the Pandemic of 2020,  convinces me that Twain was right. Humans aren't guided by facts and rational arguments, but instead, seem to follow their preconceived notions of reality, regardless of what the facts on the ground present. The stress of the pandemic has further galvanized people to take up arms for their cause. Some people fear that global interests are usurping their freedoms. Other individuals feel that the tech world is taking away all their privacy, warning of dire consequences of using private information while tracing cases of Covid-19.  And let's not forget those who resent being forced to use vaccines to improve public health. They have used the pandemic to step up their attack on vaccines by spreading disinformation about vaccine safety.  As if we weren't a little crazy before Covid-19... the pandemic  seems to have heightened our fears.  As you see, Mark Twain knew what he was talking about!  Humans are very susceptible to irrational thinking and actions, something that canines lack. Maybe that is why pet ownership has skyrocketed and the animal shelters have been emptied in recent days by people seeking the steadiness of a dog's love and companionship.  America, of recent, has literally gone to the dogs. Pandemic Challenges that Have Solutions Which brings me to the topic of this pedcast...a few of the challenges that the pandemic has presented for children and their families.  I have talked previously of some of the advantages and positive lessons that children can learn from our current global crisis so in today's pedcast we are going to take a look at a few of the negative effects it is having on children-specifically negative effects over which parents can exert some degree of control. As I alluded to in the introduction, vaccine administration among children in America have plummeted since Covid-19 crisis began. According the the CDC, 2.5 million fewer doses of childhood vaccines were administered in April 2020 than have been historically given. I can understand families fearing travel to health care facilities because they fear exposure to illness, but we can't let that deprive children of the healthy life that vaccines can provide.  Fear screams at us stay home! I understand that, but common sense says, American parents, put on those masks and get out that hand gel, socially distance, and get your children to their pediatricians for their shots. Ignore the chatter on social media and just do it. It’s important and may be life saving for your children. Believe me, you do not want your children living in a world without vaccines. That is a very ugly place. Just ask grandma.   And what about the lack of preventative care that children have missed out on during the lock down. Think that is not important?  Think again. Your children may have missed a lot of valuable measuring, weighing, screening, examining, and discussing, all of which can greatly benefit their chances of living a long healthy life. Remember, pediatrics is all about prevention but catching things to prevent requires a periodic looking.  If the pandemic forced you to get behind on your children's checkups, make a mental note to catch up on preventative healthcare your children missed in the past few months. Now onto the impact of  having children home, away from their teachers and classroom for all these months. The totality of this is hard to predict. My guess is that your children's fact and skill lea...
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