One-third of Indian parents report children falling sick with flu-like symptoms: Survey

The ever fluctuating weather has been giving Indian school going children a hard time with frequent bouts of illness, as shared by parents in a recent survey. A startling 86% of parents revealed that their children fell sick at least once in the last year, LocalCircles, a community social media platform, disclosed after conducting an extensive study. 

About the Survey 

The survey was conducted among 31,000 respondents scattered across 317 districts in India. Just 14% of parents were fortunate enough to report that their children did not fall sick in the year. The balance ratio of respondents included 61% men and 39% women. Distributed across tiers, we have 45% respondents from Tier 1, 35% from Tier 2 and a collective 20% from Tier 3, Tier 4, and rural districts. 

Interesting findings from the survey show that 38% of parents reported their children getting sick two to three times in the last 12 months while 30% observed their wards battling cold, cough, or fever as many as four to six times. On the other extreme, only 3% of parents indicated their child’s health declined seven to twelve times.

Impact on School Attendance 

Parents also disclosed how this ill-health impacted their child’s school life. A significant 47% stated their child always missed school when unwell. In contrast, 32% of parents pointed out that their children attended school at least once even when unwell. While 13% were lucky enough not to have to worry about school as their children did not fall sick, another 13% reported that their wards somehow dealt with their sickness, managing school most of the time. 

Quite unfortunately, only 6% of parents could proudly say that their children didn’t miss any exams due to sickness with 8% managing to participate in online classes. 

COVID Impact and the Way Forward 

With the world grappling with COVID-19, some parents pondered if the frequency of their healthy children falling sick during pre-COVID times can be attributed to three to five cold/fever bouts in a year. This has consequently sparked a crucial question among the immunologist community – has COVID led to a reduction in children’s immunity, thus making them vulnerable to viruses in school, the most fertile ground for infections? 

While this important question remains to be answered, these survey results throw light on prevalent health issues among school-going children in India, underlining the importance of an immediate response from all stakeholders.

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