A strange call from a mother of three asking for ways to safeguard her children from domestic accidents after the long holidays were declared was rather thought-provoking.
Her query sounded of paramount importance because, according to her, since all the entertainment avenues, parks, outdoor games for kids are closed for reasons of safety of the public in the wake of the coronavirus, most of the mothers must be seeking ways of safer, secure holidays for their kids.
Oman’s households are seeing the first of its kind long holidays for children while options of taking them out for entertainments are minimised when parks and other public places are shut due to health concerns.
Oman has nearly 800,000 students studying in public, private, and international schools who are on long holidays simultaneously raising concerns about their safety within the four walls of their homes and surroundings.
“This is the time when parents and elders need to pay more attention towards safety of children against domestic accidents as they will be exploring more because their options of diverting energy are limited,” says Abdulla Khaduri, a Safety Expert training children and adults on HSE (Health, Safety and Environment).
He says any accident that takes place in the house or in the neighbourhood is considered to be domestic accident and is considered to be a public health problem around the world.
“Accidental falls, burns, scalds, cut owing to playing with sharp objects like knives, and accidental drowning do happen when kids have too much time for themselves,” he said, adding that children are vulnerable to domestic accidents because they are still developing and have not learnt to be aware of various health, safety and environmental factors around them.
Likewise, according to the number of cases being received at the local hospitals, slips, trips and falls are the most common accidents at the domestic front. Likewise, choking and poisoning also pose great challenges for parents of children who stay at home.
“Keeping vigilant eyes on them, concealing areas which are highly dangerous for kids such as open terrace and unconcealed pit and the like and supervising them when they are running around are some of the ways to protect them against domestic accidents,” he adds.
Dr Benny Varghese, Student Counsellor, advises parents to explore extra curriculum activities that can go hand in hand with the children’s taste and preferences.
“There are ample ways and resources to make their (children’s) holidays recreative and safe. A range of online courses like craft making, cooking classes and hobby development can take them to a different world altogether,” says Dr Benny.
Additionally, a number of web sources such as BrainPop, Curiosity Stream, Tynker, Outschool, Udemy, iReady, Beast Academy (Math), Khan Academy, Creative Bug, and Discovery are some of the highly advisable virtual worlds where kids can explore their skills while getting entertained.
‘There are ample ways and resources to make children’s holidays recreative and safe. A range of online courses like craft making, cooking classes and hobby development can take them to a different world altogether’
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
