LIFESTYLE - Since August last year, the Department of Education gazetted that schools could resume contact sports (including soccer, rugby, hockey, netball and volleyball) and non-contact sports (including table tennis, athletics, cricket, chess, gymnastics and swimming).
Schools have also been allowed to resume training and inter-school matches.
Kovin Moodley, the director of sports at Penzance Primary School, tackled some questions around this:
Q. What are the health benefits of children being active in sports and training?
A: Exercise has multiple benefits for learners. The pandemic has placed us all under stress and made so much of life uncertain. Exercising during the pandemic is especially important for relieving stress, improving bones and muscles and developing motor skills and cognitive function. A stronger immune system is important for fighting any sickness, and exercising helps increase health and vitality.
Q: How does being active in sports help with children's overall development?
A: Sport allows learners an opportunity to express themselves and connect with other people. The social benefits play a vital role in the development of the learner in society by teaching them how to contribute to a team. The dynamics of sport gives a child an opportunity to understand how to win and lose, how to deal with setbacks and obstacles, which will help develop these skills to navigate through life experiences.
Q: After two years of navigating the pandemic, there are certain basic protocols that we can take at home to assist with management of Covid-19 at school. Could you offer tips in this regard?
A: Helping your child develop good habits ia key to navigating through this pandemic. We have noticed that children adapted quite well. There are some basic protocols that can be taken to ensure safer management of Covid-19 at school:
*Screen your child as soon as they wake up.
*Make sure they have sanitisers and masks
*If your child experiences any symptoms, it's better for them to avoid physical activity and rest is a much better option.
Meanwhile the National Institute for Communicable Diseases has some handy tips on how to go about encouraging Covid awareness among children. These include:
*Remind your child to properly wear a mask (cover both nose and mouth), to wash their hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds during recess/bathroom breaks, using a hand sanitiser if one is available, and keeping a physical distance of at least 1.5m from other learners.
*To practice physical distancing, let your child stretch out their arms to demonstrate how far they should be from a friend/learner.
*Children have to be reminded of common Covid-19 symptoms. Educating children helps to create awareness, enabling them to better identify symptoms. Classic symptoms include a fever, runny nose, sore throat, difficulty breathing, tiredness, dry cough, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
*Now that your child has been reminded of basic measures and common COVID-19 symptoms, do they know what to do if they feel sick at school?
-If your child gets sick or displays any Covid-19 symptoms during school hours, they have to tell an adult that they trust straightaway. This adult can be a teacher, school nurse or a staff member. The adult will follow the necessary guidelines as prescribed by the Department of Basic Education.
Depending on the severity of the symptoms, the child’s parent/guardian will be notified and requested to collect the child from school in order to seek medical attention.
*For more information see the NICD’s website.
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