Kids are innately tactile. I know all too well since I’m the father of four children. During a recent trip to Seattle with my son Milo, it appeared that he hoped to contract coronavirus in order to be quarantined from school. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

How can children not put themselves and particularly others in danger during the outbreak of the pandemic?

Dr. David Hill, who is the spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, suggests kids and adults immerse themselves in habit reversal training.

“It’s going to take a lot of reminders,” Hill said while calling from his Wilmington, North Carolina, home. “But it’s about embracing habit reversal training. “Kids and adults for that matter probably need to do the opposite of what they’ve been doing.”

The pediatrician notes that it isn’t easy for anyone to change their ways. “But it’s essential now that we do so,” Hill said. “There are ways to make changes.”

Hill suggests that we use a visual cue. “If we look into the mirror and see what we’re doing isn’t good, then maybe we’ll make a change,” Hill said. “For instance, if we pick our nose and look at that in the mirror, we can see that doesn’t look so good. So we have to come up with another way to use our hands. Maybe when you’re going to pick your nose, which isn’t a good idea during the coronavirus, we should maybe snap our fingers.”

Washing our hands, according to Hill, should be the new norm. “Maybe our kids didn’t wash their hands after every time they placed their hands in a vulnerable place,” Hill said. “We just have to work diligently on reversing the habit.”

The father of five, including three teenagers, suggests slapping sticky notes on the refrigerator. “Don’t come in here until after you wash your hands,” Hill said. “It’s that simple. Ninety percent of what we do is automated behavior. If you repeatedly work on it, what we need to accomplish will become routine.”

Good hygiene is only part of the battle. Teenagers are inherently social. Keeping kids at a distance, particularly when school is out, is an issue.

“That’s not easy, but what my colleagues are doing as am I is enforcing a rule – no play dates,” Hill said. “It’s about keeping a distance, and I get how difficult that is since social life is at the center of a teenager’s existence. But they can’t hang out with friends. It’s critical. We need to stick together as a unit.”

The upside of the coronavirus for children and their families is this is a time for reconnection. Since friends are on the periphery, Dr. Abisola Olulade, who is a family medicine physician, believes devices should be tossed to the side and families should enjoy the down time and engage in board games, charades and other activities that were popular in the pre-device era.

“It would be a good exercise to go back to the activities people enjoyed years ago,” Olulade said while calling from her San Diego office. “Prior to the coronavirus, many families didn’t have time for anything, not even family dinners. Having meals together and playing games is a great way to get together during these unusual times. Why not take advantage of the opportunity?”

Since there are few reports of children impacted by the coronavirus, and kids generally believe they’re invincible, how can the message be conveyed that everyone is vulnerable?

“That’s a tough one,” Hill said. “Kids are like ‘Woohoo, we’re immune.’ Well, kids are not immune. The best way we can convey this is through education. Children are less affected than adults, but they can be at risk. There is a recent report of a newborn having the virus, which is very concerning. The data from China indicates kids can get the virus. There are kids with compromised immune systems. That’s especially so for kids who smoke. Kids who smoke cigarettes or vape could be in trouble. Now would be a perfect time to stop smoking.”

Some folks believe that our society is overreacting, but Hill begs to differ. “If anything, we’re underreacting,” Hill said. “This is a matter of life and death. Even if children aren’t dying from it, if a child contracts coronavirus, he could put his grandparent’s life in jeopardy.”

There are a number of actions we can try to avoid the coronavirus, but it’s not just about being defensive. A proactive attack to build up your immune system is a great approach, according to Dr. Gregory Charlop.

The authority in wellness and advanced nutrition has a few suggestions on how children and adults can protect themselves from coronavirus.

“The best thing anyone, especially a child, can do is sleep well,” Charlop said while calling from his Pasadena, California, office. “Those who get five hours of sleep or less have three times the chance to get the coronavirus or a similar virus. Kids need more sleep than adults anyway. The benefit of school not being in session is that kids can get a chance to sleep. Children and adults should all get at least eight hours of sleep during this period.”

The author of “Why Doctors Skip Breakfast: Wellness Tips to Reverse Aging, Treat Depression, and Get a Good Night’s Sleep” also believes in the consumption of probiotics.

“We’ve had studies which clearly show that probiotics is beneficial for kids,” Charlop said. “Probiotics protects them from viral illness. The study showed that those who had probiotics had a much less chance of contracting a virus. Probiotics gives our gut a strong and healthy bacteria, which combats virus.”

Charlop strongly suggests picking up a bottle of zinc.

“When you take zinc, it’s so good for immune function,” Charlop said. “Zinc blocks some viruses from attacking your body. If you do contract the coronavirus, it’s best to take zinc since it will shorten the extent of the illness. Zinc may help stop the viruses from replicating in your body. Most of us are zinc deficient. Zinc will help.”

The biggest favor we can do for our immune system is keeping our hands out of harm’s way. The trouble zone for children is playgrounds. “Please have your kids avoid swings or slides,” Charlop said. “That’s a breeding ground for the coronavirus.”

According to Charlop, the coronavirus can live for up to a week on playground equipment. The doctor suggests playing in a field if your children are hit with cabin fever.

“You have to be as careful and smart as you can,” Charlop said. “We don’t have all of the answers on the coronavirus. Just do the best that you can, and the odds are that you won’t contract it – but we have to be smart about it.”