Teach Your Kids to Avoid Germs

Your kids are exposed to other people's germs in many ways, but taking some simple precautions decreases your child's chances of picking up a cold or flu virus.

• Toy sharing: If you taught your child to share, explain that germs can travel on toys and that they should wash their hands after touching other children’s toys.
• Hand washing: Germs love travelling from hands to nose, eyes and mouth. Instill the value of hand washing.
• Have a sick plan: When your little one does get sick during the day, have a plan to know who is picking them up and where they will stay. Have a backup plan, too. Make sure you and your children know the drill before they become ill.

Talk to the Teacher

Sometimes the best way to keep your kids healthy is to band together with the other adults in their lives and make a plan. Here are five questions to ask your child's teacher:

• Do the kids share cups? Sharing cups is a recipe for a classroom of sick children.
• How sick does a child have to be before being sent home? Will the teacher let a child stay in the classroom no matter how sick? Find out the limits to what the teacher (or school rules) will tolerate in class.
• Are all the children trained to cover their mouths when they sneeze?
• Does the teacher wipe the shared school supplies with an antibacterial cloth after group usage?
• If a parent cannot pick up a sick child, is the child sent back to class or do they stay in the nurse's office until a parent can come?

If your child's teacher or day-care worker seems overwhelmed or unprepared for sickness in the classroom, offer to help. If you have the time, stop in and wipe down the toys when you pick up your child. Also, communicate with other parents — a community effort is much more effective in keeping kids healthy.