WHILE the whole country is in lockdown parents will still need to pop to the shops to keep the cupboards stocked up.
And one mum has found a novel way to make a quick trip to the shops with a little one in tow as safe as possible.
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The Australian mum revealed how she used her rain cover attachments from the pram to help protect her baby from the virus.
Taking to Facebook she wrote: “Remember those annoying rain covers we got with our prams that we all threw to the back of the cupboard?
“I finally found a use for it amongst this covid craziness.”
While many parents were applauding the clever thinking, others have questioned if it a) works to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and b) safe for the little one inside.
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Kidspot’s resident GP Dr Sam Hay says, while it is a little ‘out there’, it is pretty clever if you are left with no other choice but to take your child along to shop for urgent supplies.
He told Kidspot: “We are all coming to terms with social distancing and the importance of limiting contact with others.
“By doing that, we can dramatically reduce the potential to spread COVID-19 from person to person,.
“But it’s more than just physical distance. When you are out in the community, you have to be vigilant with washing your hands after everything you touch – because you just don’t know who touched it before you
“We also know that COVID-19 can be transmitted by droplets – that means when you cough of sneeze, tiny balls of spit fly out, transmitting the virus to any surface in about a two metre radius.
“Now imagine someone coughs or sneezes just as you wheel your pram past – any of those droplets could land on your precious baby.”
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It’s for this reason, Dr Sam says it’s not such a bad idea.
“Rain covers can provide a valuable barrier for baby from the world around them”, he added.
But if you do happen to turn to this approach, Sam says be extra careful as any cover over a pram can be dangerous.
We often hear warnings from experts about pram covers making the inside of the pram too hot for babies – particularly in those scorching summer months.
In 2017, researchers in Sweden suggested that by covering a pram – even with a thin cloth like a muslin wrap – actually creates a furnace-like heat within the pram, reducing the air circulation.
Young children are more sensitive to heat than older children or adults as their body temperature can rise three-to-five times faster. This puts them at greater risk of heatstroke and other health risks such as SIDS as their body temperature reaches dangerous levels much sooner.
“Always monitor temperature inside,” says Dr Sam.
“And make sure prying little hands aren’t reaching in without you noticing. You may also consider giving it a quick wipe down before you take baby out so you don’t transfer anything from the outside in.”
This article was originally published on Kidspot and has been republished with permission.
In other coronavirus news, we told you how people are making three ingredient flatbreads are stockpiles take loaves.
And this four-year-old girl had a meltdown after learning that McDonald’s and Nando’s are shut.
And desperate mums are using unmatched socks as loo roll – as coronavirus panic sees supermarkets sell out of toilet paper.
