Every time I turn on the TV or radio or read a newspaper or magazine, there’s news about the Swine Flu. Colds and flu spread so easily that sometimes you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you will get sick. But we’ve heard time and time again from medical experts that keeping ou hands clean is the best way to prevent getting sick. Once school starts, that’s when airborne illnesses spread.

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Here’s what I know from common sense:

  1. Wash, Wash, Wash – Talk to your kids about washing their hands may times throughout the day. At home, wash your hands together in the sink. Show them how to rub them together fast and wash both top and bottom of hands with soap.
  2. Hand Sanitizer - I am not a big fan of this stuff because it fries the heck out of my hands, but it does cut germs. Put a small bottle in your child’s lunch box. He might think it is fun to use it.
  3. Hand Habits – Nail biters, thumb suckers and cuticle chewers are more likely to get sick. Try to get your child to stop these habits.
  4. Nutrition - A healthy diet is essential for everyone to stay healthy. Bad diets compromise the immune system, making it more likely for a person to contract an illness. High sugar and fat diets are not going to keep your child healthy. Vitamins can help.
  5. Sleep Habits – Does your child get enough sleep? Exhaustion will bring down your ability to fight off colds and flu. Get your child into a good sleeping routine, winding down at least an hour before bed and going to bed at the same time every night.
  6. Fitness – Everyone in the family needs regular exercise including your children. They will sleep better, feel better and strengthen their immune systems.
  7. Schedules -  Don’t schedule your children with extracurricular activities. A hectic lifestyle is not a healthy one. Kids, like adults, need unscheduled down time.
  8. Friends – Keep your child from going to friends’ houses and from them coming to your house for play time if wither child or any of their family members are sick.
  9. Kissing - I heard an MD on Good Morning America today say that people in his office are not shaking hands due to the Swine Flu. He recommended that it is good idea to forgo the usual kissing hello of friends as well. It may be impossible to get small kids to keep their hands to themselves, but you can try to explain this to them.
  10. Keep her Home – If your child does get sick – especially with flu-like systems, don’t send her to school. Many moms have to work, but they should have a backup system for home care from a friend or family member when their kids are sick. If parents kept their kids home when they are sick, it would make a HUGE difference in preventing the spread of germs.

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