Contents
To develop social skills, a child needs to interact with peers. One of the aspects of interaction is visits. But for parents, this event can be a source of additional stress, especially if the child goes to an unfamiliar house for the first time. Pediatricians tell what questions you need to ask the «host».
«Has anyone been sick at your house lately?»
The question is relevant during the seasonal epidemic of influenza and colds. Pediatrician Denis Kopenhaever brings up a two-year-old son and, accompanying him to other children, always specifies which of the adults will be at home. He also asks if anyone in the family has been sick recently, especially with a high fever.
«Do you restrict children’s access to the computer, TV and other devices?»
Pediatrician and mother-of-two Reshmi Basu advises clarifying how the children plan to spend time together. This will help to understand if they are at risk of encountering something inappropriate: “Are they going to sit on their phones all this time, or will they watch movies? It all depends on how it suits the parents. But if the kids are going to watch a movie, I’d like to know which one. What is the age limit for this movie?
Justin Smith, a pediatrician and father of three, advises to simply ask directly what the children will be doing: “Some families do not mind that children play without supervision, do not control what they watch on TV and what they do on the computer. Now that the kids are older, we watch them less, but we still check what they look at, what sites they go to and what games they choose.”
Pediatrician Hai Kao is the father of an 8-year-old daughter. When she goes to other children, he always asks how much time they will be allowed to spend in front of the screen, what sites will be accessed, whether they will be safe when communicating on the Internet.
“Do you have animals at home and how friendly are they to strangers?”
Many children grow up in families with pets, others are not used to them. Before you let the child go, ask the owners if there are animals in the house and what kind of character they have. It’s also better for kids to know in advance what to expect. Denis Copenhaever says he always asks this question beforehand.
“Do you have any allergies? Are there any food restrictions?
Pediatrician and mother of two children Melanie Wilson-Taylor advises parents to clarify questions about nutrition in advance: for example, in a family where religious food restrictions are observed. It is also useful to clarify whether the children with whom the child will communicate do not suffer from allergies. You need to know which foods are safe for everyone present.
Pediatrician and mother-of-four Shelly Vaziri Flys says two of her children suffer from severe food allergies. Before letting them go, she tells the parents of friends what to do in case of an exacerbation, checks to see if the children have tubes of adrenaline with them that can save their lives.
“Hiking with friends is a great opportunity to teach children responsibility for their own health. This applies, for example, to asthmatics who need inhalers, and to diabetics who need insulin, ”says the doctor.
Source: Huffington Post