‘Don’t make your kids anxious, just take care’

The H1N1 flu virus has, in fact, brought many basic hygiene etiquettes back in practice with people covering their faces while coughing or sneezing. Academicians and experts say that adherence to simple and proper hygienic practices will help stem the spreading of the dreaded flu virus.

Ranjani Krishnaswamy, principal of St Gregarious High school, Chembur, says, “Parents should stop panicking. Instead, we should concentrate on procedures to ensure personal hygiene in each child. From our side we have fumigated classrooms and instructed teachers to screen every child in their classes.”

Moreover, teachers have been directed to inform children of the effectiveness of amla, tulsi and vitamin C rich foods in increasing resistance of the body. “The H1N1 flu is here to stay, just like how malaria and dengue came in decades ago. Keeping children at home could be futile as the flu can be contracted at home,” says Supriya Atal, a teacher with an international school in Mumbai. Schools are planning not to have assemblies and screen children with any illness and send them home. Abhimanyu Basu, director of Dhirubhai Ambani International School says, “We have sent out emails and SMSes to parents to prepare their children for returning to schools.” The school had earlier reported a case of the H1N1 flu.

“Children are scared about H1N1 due to constant media coverage and rumours from peers; but parents should not transfer their anxiety to them,” says psychologist Seema Hingorani. “No parent should force their ward to go to school when unwell or push them to cope with the syllabus,” said Jean Pereira, who is a counsellor for several schools in the city.

With inputs from Gauri Rane