The opening of school with crowded buses, classrooms, and halls provides the perfect opportunity for the spread of viruses from one child to the next. There are ways to reduce a child’s chance of contracting the latest “bug” floating around the school and daycare environment with a few simple instructions.
- Teach your child to wash their hands before eating and after using the bathroom.
- Teach your child to cover their mouths and noses when they sneeze or cough, preferable in the crooks of their elbows if possible instead of their hands.
- Warn your child to never share cups or straws with other children
- Make sure your child washes his/her hands and faces when they get home from school.
- Review age appropriate personal hygiene with your child.
- Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep because lack of sleep reduces the ability of the immune system to fight infection.
- Children learn by example so set a good personal hygiene example.