I know so many moms that feel like they are continually stuck in “sick season” all winter long. With kids it’s hard to avoid germs but I wanted to do a quick post with a few tips for eradicating and preventing the germs in your home. These tips for staying healthy can be applied to any season but it seems to be worse during the winter months!
1. Wipes! Use disinfecting wipes to wipe down everything. When someone in our house is sick I try to wipe things down at least every other day. Here is a list of things you should wipe down:
*Door handles
*Light switches
*Telephone
*Fridge door handle
*Toilet flushing handle
*Cupboard handles
*Favorite toys
These are just a few of the things that are touched every day in your home so if you can keep these surfaces sterile then you are not giving the germs any grounds to spread.
2. Wash hands! My daughter is only 2 but since she’s been old enough to run around and touch things on her own I have been making her wash her hands as soon as we get home. She knows that as soon as we get home from shopping, the playground, Sunday school, etc. that she needs to wash her hands. It’s a good habit for all of us to wash our hands as soon as we get home so start teaching your kids this is important by 1. modeling it and 2. making it fun for them. I have a song that I sing to my daughter while we wash her hands. She loves it and now that she’s older she sings it too. She’s also learned how to “eat” the water out of the faucet which gets her really excited about washing her hands now!
3. Wash kids clothes frequently. Honestly I don’t know if this really makes a difference but I don’t want to give the germs any ground to grow so as soon as I take my daughter’s clothes off for the day they go straight in the hamper.
I also make a point to wash my daughter’s blanket and teddy bear at least once a week so that she’s not sleeping with a germ infested teddy bear bomb! (In the summer months I only wash them every few weeks.)
4. Be preventative. There are many natural supplements that you can get at your local health food store for preventing sickness in your kids. My sister told me about Sweet Echinacea drops and I love them! Echinacea helps to build your immune system so it’s great for you and your little ones. These drops are great because you can’t really taste them so I squeeze an entire dropper full of echinacea into my daughter’s water sippy cup for the day and she doesn’t even know it!
Hyland’s Vitamin C Tablets are also great for kids! My daughter loves these Vitamin C’s because they are really tiny and they dissolve in her mouth, she thinks they are fun and is always asking for more. I give her two each day to help maintain a healthy immune system.
I’m sure there are other great products out there, aside from giving them their regular daily vitamins, but these are just a couple of the ones that I love.
I believe it’s really important to be proactive in fighting off sickness and I have found that these are a few of the steps that have really helped our family. We don’t get sick that often and compared to other kids I see–that always seem to be sick–Malea very rarely get’s anything.
If you have any great tips that you use in your home I’d love to hear about them! Leave me a comment or email me so that I can share your great ideas with other!
About Anna
I think eating healthy and eating lots of veggies help. Madison is rarely sick as well, although right now is one of the rare times, she has the runny nose. I think i will go to the health food store and pick up that stuff! Thanks Anna. Oh and love the idea of washing the hands like that, i try to wash them often but i do tend to forget.
Another idea we use in our household is that no one shares toothpaste! We each have our own!Becky B.www.organizingmadefun.blogspot.comOrganizing Made Fun