There are two important things to do after a concussion to help your child or adolescent. First, make sure that they do not participate in any high-risk activities where they could take additional blows to the head. You may need to increase supervision (particularly younger children) to make sure that they are not too active or put themselves in situations where they could be re-injured. Second, after an initial period of rest for 24-48 hours, daily activities should be gradually reintroduced with attention towards worsening symptoms and ability to perform those daily activities successfully. In the first few days, parents should monitor the child or adolescent for symptoms regularly at least several times per day.
As the child recovers, monitoring should occur every few days, particularly as the child returns more fully to activities and symptoms are improving. Note that strict rest, which involves a reduction in all activities including any exercise, any social contact, no school-related work, and severely reduced stimuli like lights and noises, is not recommended beyond the first 24-48 hours, and only if symptoms are severe.
As symptoms lessen, it is good to gradually increase safe activities as long as symptoms do not significantly worsen. Only allow a higher risk activity (practices, scrimmages and competition) after a qualified healthcare professional evaluates and clears your child to do so.