The weather has been slightly warmer these past few days but we’re not done with winter just yet! For today’s Tuesday Tell-All, we are sharing with you some tips from WebMd and Parenting Journals on how to teach your children to avoid colds. Most of these tips will seem like common sense for us adults, however, some of our children may still need a lesson or two.
1. Be a germ-ologist.
Whether you call them bugs or cooties, kids can understand germs on their own level. Explain that germs are tiny things you can’t see, even though they’re everywhere. Some are good; some are bad. Germs that cause the cold and flu can hang out on your hands and get into your body when you touch your nose or mouth.
2. Wash hands frequently!
There is almost no such thing as washing hands too often. Teach your child to soap and lather for about 20 seconds, as a quick wash job won’t be thorough enough.
Coach your kids on the right way to do it:
- Wet your hands with warm or cold water.
- Turn off the water.
- Get some soap.
- Rub your hands together, creating lather. Spread it between your fingers and on the backs of your hands, too.
- Do this for at least 20 seconds, then rinse off the soap.
- Use a clean towel to dry your hands.
Also, teach them when they should do it:
- When their hands are dirty
- Before they eat or touch food
- After they use the bathroom
- After they cough into their hands or blow their nose
- After they leave the playground
- Before and after they spend time with someone who’s sick
3. Use hand sanitizer.
Sometimes you have dirty hands, but you can’t get to a sink with soap. Train kids to reach for hand sanitizer. It’s available in most classrooms, and travel-size tubes can easily be clipped to a diaper bag or backpack.
Some brands use kid-friendly scents to make it more interesting. Buy the kind that’s at least 60% alcohol to kill as many germs as possible.
4. Teach your child to sneeze or cough into the inside of the elbow.
This keeps the germs off your hands and stops respiratory droplets from spreading into the air.
“Germs can fly 60 to 100 mph,” Hsu says. “If you did a real-time video of the mist from a cough or sneeze, you’d see it goes everywhere.”
5. Use a tissue.
To kids, everything is a tissue — their sleeves, a favorite stuffed animal, the couch cushions. To keep all the germs in one place, a tissue is the best place to put them. Keep tissues in visible places around your home and in the car. Hand them to your child so she gets into the habit of sneezing and coughing into them.
6. Tell them that sharing is not always caring.
Toys should be shared, but germs shouldn’t. Explain to your kids that sharing straws, cups, food, forks, and spoons means spreading germs, as a person can be infected and contagious before any symptoms appear. This means they can get sick and so can their friends.
7. Make sure your children stay away from smoke!
Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to catch colds.
8. Have your sick child stay home from school and other activities.
This will not only prevent other children from possibly catching your child’s virus, but it will give your child the rest that he or she needs for their body to heal and recharge.
9. Help your kids understand that sleep matters.
Few things make a person more susceptible to getting sick than lack of proper sleep. While you’re sleeping, your body gets to be still and focus on keeping you well. Not getting enough sleep, even for one night, weakens a person’s immune system, whether the person is a grown-up or a child. A weaker immune system means the body will be less capable of fighting a virus when exposure to the virus occurs.
10. Teach your children to love fruits and vegetables!
Every apple, banana, and piece of broccoli is a win in the war on germs. Oranges are especially good at cold time, as they will make body aches go away. You can also try diluting orange juice with hot water; this will soothe a sore throat and give your sick child’s immune system the boost that it needs.
We hope these 10 tips help get you through the last few weeks of winter virus-free! Stay healthy, everyone!
SLO Classical Academy is not affiliated with any of the above-mentioned websites, businesses or organizations.
