When the kids regularly come home with runny noses, sore throats and coughs, you know it's got to be cold and flu season. To help keep kids from missing valuable school time this winter due to illness, here are some tips from our Macaroni Kid family to yours!
Clean Hands. One of the biggest ways to help avoid or fend off the sick bug is to teach kids to wash their hands frequently after playing and always before eating! While older kids probably won't go for it, we like to sing a song to the theme of "Where is Thumbkin" that goes like this: "Top and Bottom, Top and Bottom, In-Between, In-Between, Rub them both together, Rub them both together, Nice and Clean, Squeaky Clean"! This song is long enough that it gives our little one enough time to scrub and teaches her how to lather the soap and wash properly!
Sanitize! While we're fans of hand wipes when out and about, we're actually talking about keeping frequently touched objects like refrigerators, phones (cell phones too!), toys, doorknobs, countertops and computer keyboards clean and disinfected. If one family member starts to show signs of sickness, it's very important to sanitize everything immediately as those germs can live on these surfaces for several hours and then subsequently be passed on to the rest of the family. And how great is it that most stores nowadays provide wipes for the shopping carts?
Sleep/Rest. This is one rule that is well-enforced in our house. Children who do not get regular naps and/or enough sleep at bedtime are more susceptible to weaker immune systems. And weaker immune systems mean kids are not as easily able to fight off those cold and flu bugs.
Diet. After all that Halloween candy, now may be the time to make sure the kids get an extra dose of "healthy" and "balanced" in their diets. There's been plenty already said about the importance of proper nutrition and that couldn't be more important than in the winter since this is the time kids need to be as strong and healthy as possible to fight off bad bugs. Studies have found that eating six ounces (less than one cup!) of yogurt with good bacteria (active cultures) every day reduces the chances of catching a cold!
Stay healthy!
