Flu prevention tips for your kids

How to prevent your kids from bringing home cold and flu viruses.

Having kids in school means having kids in a place where infections can be passed around quickly – and brought home. Remember how many times you sat back helplessly watching as colds and the flu arrived with the kids and spread to everyone in the house? And it seemed like just when you thought everyone in the family was rid of one virus, another reared its head.

The responsible thing to do is to keep your kids home until they get better. This is not always easy. As the school year goes by, many parents watch their sick days disappear and face the prospect of using their vacation days or taking unpaid leave to care for their sick children. This would probably be less of an issue if all parents kept their sick kids at home until they recovered. The harsh reality, however, is that economics and the regular stress of work leave many parents without options when their kids get sick.

To make matters worse, what some kids do at school is enough to make anyone sick. It can make the average adult cringe to think of what a group of kids do through the course of a day – coughing, touching, sneezing, picking, wiping, scratching... and then there are all of those things that go into mouths or get shared.

What if you and your friends all agreed to keep your kids away from other kids if they're sick? What if you could teach your kids hygiene habits that lowered their chance of picking up viruses? What if you could get your child's teacher to reinforce infection prevention habits at school? What would be the result? There are no guarantees, but odds are you would probably see a reduction in the number of cold and flu bugs your kids bring home.

Some things are easy to do. Others require some persistent reminders. If you stick with it, however, you can reduce your family's chances of falling victim to the cold and flu cycle.

Start in your own home. Get everyone involved in using good infection control habits at home. Simple things like sneezing and coughing into your sleeve, using a tissue when cleaning your nose, and washing your hands when you come home and before you eat can go a long way towards reducing your chance of infection. Explain why you're asking your family to do these things. Lead by example and be relentless in reminding your kids. Post a calendar on the fridge to keep track. Offer a reward to encourage your kids to stick with it. The "Infection Prevention for Kids" article includes more info on what you should teach them.

Next, get your friends and relatives on board. The only sure way you can prevent cold and flu bugs from entering your house is if you don't let your kids play with other kids when they're sick. If your friends or relatives get huffy or offended, be firm. Explain to them why you are doing this. Remind them of how tough it is to manage their daily lives when their child gets sick. If they are true friends, they will understand. Family may take some extra effort, but stick with it. You may also want to share the "Infection Prevention for Kids" article and encourage them to teach it to their kids.

Ready for the next step? Talk to your child's teacher. Give her or him a copy of the "Infection Prevention for Kids" checklist. Good infection control habits at home, at school, and at their friends' houses – and a little luck – will let you enjoy a few less runny noses this winter. No small feat, but well worth the effort: a little proactive effort could mean a lot less downtime in your house this school year.

Source(s): © McNeil Consumer Healthcare, division of Johnson & Johnson Inc. 2009