Keeping Your Child Healthy
Tips for parents in keeping their kids healthy.
A child comes to school to learn. We all know there are times when a child does not feel well enough to take part in school. Often an illness is spread to others before the first symptoms appear. The best way to keep these illnesses (such as colds or flu) from spreading is to take the following steps:
- Teach your child to wash his or her hands frequently using plenty of soap and warm water. Proper hand washing should take about 20 seconds or the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice
- Teach your child to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or in their sleeve (elbow)
- Keep the child’s environment smoke free
- Try to minimize the time your child spends with other children who have cough or cold symptoms
- Teach your child to use and pack easy-to-use disinfecting wipes and/or hand sanitizers in child’s backpack
- Schedule and keep an annual well-child exam to follow changes in your child’s health
- Keep all of your child’s immunizations up-to-date, and include the recommended flu vaccination every year
- Serve a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, plus plenty of water
- If someone in the house is ill, wash all shared surfaces and sheets frequently, and change toothbrushes
- Keep surfaces such as door knobs, phones, remote controls, toys and keyboards disinfected
- Always make sure to consult your school nurse, school nurse practitioner or health care provider if you have any questions
