H1N1 & Kids' Birthday Parties,Thanksgiving, Xmas
Docs' Tips on Protecting Children from Swine Flu this Holiday Season
Nov 4, 2009
Children are in a high-risk category for H1N1 virus. Although many have already had a bout of the flu or have been vaccinated, concern remains high that a small number of kids could contract swine flu. Some children — and nobody can predict which ones — are likely to get sick enough to require hospitalization. So, it's worthwhile taking sensible health precautions about festive occasions such as birthday parties, big Thanksgiving meals, and Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa celebrations, when there are lots of people, and therefore germs, around. Here are some common-sense tips on how to deal with birthday parties and Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa celebrations, to help protect children from getting H1N1 swine flu and other "bugs." And, while parents are thinking about their children's health during the holidays and parties, it's smart to help the kids avoid that other national childhood epidemic: obesity.
Basics for H1N1 Swine Flu Prevention During Birthday Parties, Thanksgiving and Christmas
There are some measures that can be taken to prevent the spread of H1N1, including the following:
- Practice good handwashing hygiene. Dr. Jennifer Shu, Atlanta-based pediatrician and co-author of Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor, and a Bottle of Ketchup [American Academy of Pediatrics, 2007], reminds, "My general rule of thumb is wash before eating and after coming in from outside." Parents should remind children to wash their hands before eating at birthday parties, and before Thanksgiving, Christmas, and holiday meals, too.
- Keep them home if they’re sick. Some parents can’t bear to see their children both sick and disappointed by missing a birthday party or family occasion like Thanksgiving. Dr. Christopher Tolcher, a Los Angeles-based pediatrician and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at USC School of Medicine advises, “If a child is sick, don’t just give him or her something to suppress the fever and let them go out. Keep them home.”
- Sharing food: In one simple word: don’t.
Loot Bags from Birthday Parties, Thanksgiving Parties, Christmas and Holiday Parties
If children come home from a birthday party or holiday party with a “loot bag” filled with goodies, there are certain flu-prevention measures to take.
- Inspect anything that comes into the home: Don't just let the kids hoard their loot bags in their bed rooms. Take a peek to see if any edibles are unwrapped, and toss or wash them. And, if something is damp, don't ignore it. If candy packaging is wet then it might be that the substance is "contagious from drool, saliva, a runny nose," said Dr. Shu, adding, "I might be concerned about wet droplets from infected kids’ hands." Air it out for a day for good measure.
- Games: Obviously, anything like apple-bobbing that involves children sticking their hands into a bowlful of food, or taking bites of one another’s food, should be avoided this year. The H1N1 virus can be transmitted by saliva.
For Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Holidays: Cut Calories
Help the kids fight obesity while also keeping them flu-free. Instead of holiday cakes, candy and sweets, Dr. Shu recommends trading cards, baseball cards, tattoos, bookmarks, balls, or glow sticks in birthday party and holiday party loot bags, noting that these treats “don’t promote obesity and tooth decay.“ Other ideas:
- Portion control begins at home: Cut down on the number of carbs on the table: if there’s cake, forgo the cupcakes. On Thanksgiving, if one's family traditionally has a table laden with high-calorie items such as stuffing, sweet potatoes, and two kinds of pies, make less of each. If guests will be disappointed to find a Thanksgiving without sweet potatoes mixed with marshmallows, make a smaller amount and also use the small marshmallows, and fewer of them. Substitute fruit or vegetable salad for one of the main course side dishes. Have a smaller desert. In other words, keep portion control in mind.
- Substitute foods: Serve healthy fruit for sugar-rich sweets.
- Make it last: There's no need to be a killjoy. But it's possible to make birthday parties, Thanksgiving and Christmas sweets last. Portion them out, and don’t leave boxes of sugary cookies and cakes around for easy nibbling.
Use Holiday Occasions to Teach Children about Hygiene and Health, Not Create Germophobes
Parents walk a fine line between instilling good hygiene practices in children, and scaring them about invisible germs. “My main suggestion,” said Dr. Christopher Tolcher, is that parents and children stay "germ-conscious without being paranoid, and practice healthy habits, like keeping one’s hands out of one’s nose and mouth, not sharing saliva with others, and staying home when sick."
Thanksgiving, Christmas, holiday parties and birthday parties are wonderful festivities. With some sensible precautions, kids can enjoy the fun and avoid falling prey to either the H1N1 epidemic, or the national obesity epidemic. The two health issues are vastly different, but holiday parties are an opportunity for parents to help children avoid swine flu, and the perils of being overweight.
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