School Is in Session and Germs are on Roll Call!
September 15, 2014
School is back in session and that means your children will once again be exposed to more germs. Being around more people means more contact with airborne and touch transmitted germs and infections. There’s little you can do about the increase in germs around kids, but there are a few things that can help lessen the risk of germ-induced sickness.
The best place to encourage healthy hygiene habits is at home. Explain to your kids how germs can make them sick and why they need to protect themselves through habits like hand washing. A fun learning trick one kindergarten teacher shares on her blog is the “Glitter Germ” game. Just add some glitter to hand sanitizer and have your children imagine that the glitter are germs. Practice touching different surfaces, shaking hands, high fiving, etc to see how quickly the glitter “germs” spread. Then demonstrate how to properly wash hands until all the glitter is gone.
The teacher faked a glittery “sneeze” into her hands to show how germs get on hands through sneezing. This added step can be used to educate children on how they should sneeze or cough into their arm rather than into their hands – another easy way to stop the spread of sickness.
Another way to avoid sickness throughout the school year is avoid other kids who are sick. You can’t be around your children all day to identify the sick kids, but there are some things you can do to be more aware of sick classmates:
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Be connected with other parents. Having a good relationship with other children’s parents increases the chances you will know if an illness is going around. Staying active in PTA and other school related events can help build these bonds. Facebook is a great way to maintain a parent-to-parent grapevine.
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Let other parents know if your child is sick. If your child comes down with something, do a common courtesy and let the other parents in the class know. The other parents will be more likely to return the favor in the future.
Ultimately, you can’t keep all the germs away from your children and every one once in awhile your child will get sick but the best thing for them is to have a healthy immune system to fight the virus off.
To help strengthen children’s immune systems, try some of the following:
- Encourage outside play.
- Children today are born in a world of technology and it’s getting more difficult to get them away from the television, video games and the internet. Encourage your children to get a daily dose of outside activity.Feed them a healthy diet.
Diet is so critical to a strong immune system – especially in developing children’s bodies. Make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need by feeding them a balanced diet. The digestive tract makes up the majority of a body’s immune system so feeding it properly will help kids stay healthier.
You know that old wives tale about chicken noodle soup curing colds? Turns out it isn’t just a placebo effect. The ingredients commonly found in chicken noodle soup are anti-inflammatory and can soothe symptoms of colds – putting people on a quicker road to recovery. If the classic chicken noodle soup can help in times of sickness – imagine what a constant healthy diet can do for your child’s immune system.
- Utilize supplements.
Consider adding in supplements to your child’s diet to give them an extra boost. Especially early on in life, children need to establish healthy flora so their digestive system and immune system can develop.
As with anything you give your child, do your research. Select a high quality probiotic from a reputable source like Natren that has many years of safety and efficacy. We carry Life Start, a probiotic containing B.infantis specifically formulated for babies and Healthy Start System for children.
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