The New Nation - Internet Edition

Rifat Zafreen

Oh! I hate rain though I loved rain once! I just hate it because of my baby, who really needs a very special care during this season. My three year little son wants to get wet in rain, play in rain. He just gets crazy to touch the rain drops that pour like billions and zillions of little diamonds from the sky.

Rainy season with its own dignity and specialty reaches after the nature suffers from heat stroke in summer. So, rainy season soothes the nature and all bringing comfort and wet feeling too. But with the bloom of 'kodom' flower of the season, people are to face different and many hardships then. Even in rain they are to go out of the houses to maintain life. Students are to get muddy to go for school. Even the little kids do not spare going from school then due to rain that makes them unhappy, dizzy and sometimes sick.

Parents need to be very much aware and conscious of the safety and health of their angels during this awkward wet time. They remain always anxious if their children catch cold or get ill. Due to rain, there causes stagnant water every where and in Dhaka, it is no scape. Because of this, water pollution becomes the inseparable part. Different water born diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, cold, fever, typhoid, filaria etc become the consequences for our children in this season. They easily get affected in this season. Besides, drinking polluted and impure water children get affected by different skin diseases along with other diseases.

So, we need our concern and awareness during this time specially. We need to take precaution to save our children mainly. We need to boil water and all the family members along with the children need to drink it. We need to wear our children rain coat and carry umbrella while go to school for them. Children like colorful and bright umbrellas.

We should not forget to bath the children with lukewarm water if they get wet while return from school and dry them carefully and thoroughly. After that they should be put baby lotion, powder althrough their body. This would make them feel fresh, happy and jolly. We always should try to put on easy and comfortable plastic and cambis shoes to the children since gumboot and closed plastic shoes cause fungal attact on the feet. During this time we have to wear our children dresses made of synthetic cloths; so that, these get easily dry. This would lessen the chance of having fever for them.

We must resist our children from going in to rain as they love to play in rain. Parents need to be very careful during this time since children may escape and flee and get wet in rain. This may cause serious health hazard to the children. We should make our children drink oral saline if they have diarrhoea. They need to be provided with healthy food and snacks in their tiffin along with fruits, juice a lot in this season.

It is unquestionable that we have to keep our children's nails short and clean. They need to wear fresh cloths, because wet and semi-wet cloths harm children. The toys of the children need to be kept germ free as much as possible along with their other daily necessaries. Children put things and their toys in to their mouth easily.

We should do the room of the children well and keep it airy and clean to make them feel fresh, happy, bright and smily. Along with the window curtains the bed cover, pillow cover of their room should be kept clean, fresh and bright to bring positive impact on them. We have to motivate and keep the children busy in creative work specially during this time, as they remain confined in room due to rain in this season. We must be very careful about rain splash during rainy season as it makes the room wet, dirty and uncomfortable. So, windows should be kept closed during rain, so that our children remain safe and protected.

It is our responsibility to look after our children. So, we too have to remain fresh, hale and hearty. If we remain lively, we can keep our children lively and well too. A healthy and normal surroundings can help flourish and develop a child's creativity and imagination. Our little effort can help our child be a creative, bright, sharp and ideal human being no matter in rainy season or other time. We can not and should not spare any chance for the sake of our children. We have to use each and every moment for their care. We should remain more alert during some critical and special times for their good health and rainy season is one of those time when our children need very special care from us. We can not ignore that in any way.

(Advocacy and Communication for Children & Women)