Helping you keep your Kids Healthy during cold & flu season

With the recent outbreak of measles in Southern California it got me thinking about what we as parents can do to keep our children healthy.  While choosing to vaccinate your child or not is a very personal decision most people only see their point of view.  If you are for vaccinations it is hard to see why someone wouldn’t, however if you are against it you don’t understand why someone would.  I personally can see both points of view and could write for days about it, but I just want to remind you of some ways to keep your children healthy during this season if they are vaccinated or not.

While visiting an amusement park remember you are visiting with people from all over the world, and their germs.  Planning ahead will be your biggest life saver while visiting an amusement park.  Bring alcohol based hand sanitizer, baby wipes and disinfecting wipes for every surface especially one you and your family will be eating from, or use a disposable place mat.

Remember to have the entire family wash their hands specifically before eating.  If you grab a churro (and how could you not, they are delicious) remember to at least use hand sanitizer to clean all their little hands.  Cold and flu virus are NOT airborne, but if someone sneezes into their hand and then touches a door with their virus covered hand, and minutes later your child touches the same door and then eats a churro he just ate a churro virus treat.  Anything that falls on the ground at an amusement park is now covered in every germs from every person.  There is no five second rule, if it falls on the floor it needs to go into the trash.

1. Wash hands
2. Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with warm water and soap.
3. Sing the ABC’s twice while washing hands
4. Wash hands before any meal
5. Wash hands after using the restroom
6. Teach kids to sneeze into a tissue but as this is usually not something a child carries, the crook of their elbow is the best way to avoid the spread of germs
7. Do not put bags down on the floor, the floor is the dirtiest place at an amusement park

Tips for keeping kids healthy at home, school/daycare and outside the home:

1. Have kids wash hands when they arrive at school
2. Likewise when they come home from school
3. Keep your children home when they are sick
4. Tell children not to share food or drinks
5. At the grocery store use the anti bacterial wipes to clean any area your child my touch of the cart
6. Clean baby carriers every few days, especially the bottom of the carrier if you place it on the floor ever
7. Bring extra pacifiers for any that drop on the floor, do not give a dirty pacifier back to your baby