Kids and germs get along famously. When they aren’t mingling with 20 other classmates, kids are touching everything in sight, from doorknobs to pencils, the walls and the floors.
They routinely stick their hands in their mouths (despite you telling them for the umpteenth time not to do that!).
And they can’t help but cough and sneeze with impunity whenever the need arises.
As a parent, you want to keep them safe. It’s never fun when your young one has to spend a week in bed with the sniffles.
But a crucial part of keeping them healthy is keeping yourself healthy.
After all, someone has to feel well enough to cook them chicken soup if they get sick.
It’s challenging to keep yourself healthy when you have a germ-magnet running around your home.
That’s why, in this blog, let’s look at a few things you can do to avoid catching your kid’s cold or flu.
Support Your Immune System
You know the old saying, “The best offence is a good defence”?
It applies to avoiding sickness as well. If you want to avoid catching your kid’s colds and flus, start with an immune-supporting regimen of supplements and superfoods.
Take Vitamin C regularly, which some research shows can strengthen your immune response.
Look into the powerful health benefits of Chaga mushroom powder – a superfood that research indicates can boost your immune system and white blood cell production (the worker cells responsible for fighting foreign intruders).
Simple stir a few grams of Chaga mushroom powder into your tea or coffee each morning.
Additionally, remember to get adequate sleep and exercise, which your body needs to build a robust counterattack against illness.
Practice Frequent Hand Washing
You can’t rely on your immune system to do all the heavy lifting. Sometimes, you need to stop germs dead in their tracks.
Consider developing a handwashing schedule for the home, something the whole family – parents and kids – can follow.
Post your handwashing schedule somewhere visible in the bathroom and kitchen.
Include instructions for how to wash hands properly, along with an easy-to-remember way to count time (many experts recommend singing “Happy Birthday” while you wash your hands).
Teach the Elbow Sneeze Method
Kids don’t think about their germs the same way adults do.
When they sneeze or cough, their only goal is to get it out as quickly as possible so they can continue playing.
But nestled within each sneeze or cough is an average of roughly 100,000 contagious germs.
The last thing you want is for that army of germs to freely disperse within a room.
To help contain the spread of germs, teach your kid the “elbow sneeze and cough” method, where they raise their inner elbow to their face when they have to sneeze.
To make the habit more fun, you can tell them to “dab” when they have to sneeze.
Before long, the safe practice of elbow sneezing should become second nature to them.
Between supporting your immune system, frequent hand washing for the whole family and safe sneeze and cough practices, you can avoid catching your kid’s cold.
Better yet, you can help ensure that they don’t catch a cold in the first place!