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Winter brings crisp, cold days, and stunningly beautiful landscapes of ice and snow, which for your child probably means building snow men, making snow angels, ice skating, skiing, drinking hot chocolate, and lots of other fun activities. But your child can only enjoy all of this if they stay healthy. Here are 6 fairly easy ways to keep your child healthy during winter.
1. Hand washing is still one of the best ways to eliminate the spread of germs from one surface to another. And with the creation of soaps that foam, smell good, come in engaging and kid-friendly containers, and the high-tech motion activated soap dispenser, hand washing has never been more glamorous. Let your child pick out a couple of favorite choices for soap and maybe even splurge and get a lotion for them to use after each wash. Teach them how to blend the hot and cold water so the temperature is warm rather than bone-chilling cold. You'll be amazed how these seemingly small perks will motivate your child to wash their hands more often.
2. Hand sanitizer is a wonderful and effective addition to the arsenal against germs. Keep a bottle in the car so they clean their hands immediately after school or other activities, and before you hand them a snack to eat. Be sure to monitor its use with smaller children to make sure they use it on their hands and rather than inhaling it.
3. Dressing in layers even on warmer days helps children stay healthy. It's often such a temptation for children to dress too lightly during the winter when the weather is unseasonably warm. Many inside spaces are still cold and drapty, so insisting that your child wear or be able to add a shirt with longs sleeves, and / or a sweater when needed (lots of times on the same day), will go a long way towards keeping them healthy.
4. Covering their mouths when sneezing or coughing is still high on the list of things to do, and covering with your arm rather than your hand is better. Sneezing and coughing into hands and then touching door knobs, phones, and other hands just spreads the germs. Just this one action probably keeps hands 50% cleaner.
5. Keep small boxes of tissues open and ready in every room. Again, let your child help pick out the designs on the boxes. This may seem like overkill, but often children (and adults) know they need a tissue, but can not find one. Stock their coat pockets with extra tissues so they are sure to have one on the playground or in your car and when riding in a friend's car. Having a tissue available when they need it is a simple but effective way to stop the spread of germs. The old adage keeps coming back because it's true-an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure!
6. When they are sick, keep them home. Their eyes and activity level are great indicators of how sick they are. If their eyes look heavy even though they are awake, and they are content to just sit and be quiet (sometimes referred to as looking puny) keep them home to avoid exposing their weakened immune system to all the germs they will certainly encounter in their daily routine of preschool, school, and other after school activities. This will help others stay well too. Children's systems are generally incredibly resilient and will bounce back pretty quickly in a less germy environment, with lots of rest, and a well-balanced diet that includes lots of fluids.
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Source by Debbie Davis
