Keeping Kids Germ-Free During Cold and Flu Season

***Disclosure-This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Pediacare and Latina Bloggers Connect. All opinions stated are my own based on my personal experience.

These past two weeks have been the most horrible weeks ever. I have been dying sick. I do not wish anyone to be this sick. I did not even have the flu. A cold can lay you out for a couple of days. But I was not the only one sick in our house, so was my daughter. Luckily my husband and I were able to help her as soon as she starting showing signs of sickness. Now we had 2 of 4 people in our house sick. We needed to contain the germs that were already there and prevent any more germs for hanging around and making the rest of my family sick. I know how not to share germs but I need to start teaching my daughter how to stay germ-free this winter. You can never start to young to teach them.

Tips on how to keep the kids germ free during the winter months:

1) Teach them not to share their cups, or grab others drinks. My daughter goes to daycare. The first time she got sick was the first week she attended daycare. The kids at the daycare share everything. I label all of my daughter's cups. They are returned on a daily basis. Also washing kid's cups regularly. I boil my daughter's cups, and straws to kill any germs and prevent any mold from forming.

2) Immunizations and Vitamins. Preventing illnesses can be as easy as taking a multivitamin. They have gummies for kids and adults.

3) Washing hands. All kids love to play, so make washing your hands a little game. They can sign a song, count numbers, or anything that makes it fun or easy for them to remember. My daughter has a step stool next to the bathroom sink so it makes it easy for her to wash her hands anytime she needs to. Frequent hand washing with soap and water or cleansing with any product that has 62% isopropyl alcohol.

4) Wiping and Cleaning kids toys. My daughter has a table that she uses everyday. I wipe this table down and any toys she uses. You can use baby wipes or cleaning wipes. Don't forget to clean door handles, control remotes, sink faucets, stair banisters, refrigerator handles, car door handles, phones, or anything you touch on a daily basis.

5) Sneezing correctly. All my life I was taught to cover my sneezes but never to sneeze into my elbow. If you sneeze into your hands, then you have the germs in your hands. But if you sneeze into your elbow, you can grab a tissue and then wipe your elbow. No spreading germs with your hands.

6) Layering. The weather is crazy. It could change. We have gotten our daughter use to wearing a sweater. In Houston, the weather is cold one minute, hot the next and then back to cold. Our winter's sometimes are a nice Summer temperature during the day but then as soon as the sun goes down, you remember it is Winter.  

7) Cutting fingernails and keeping nails clean. Do you know that germs live under your nails? This is why it is important to wash your hands #3. I keep my daughter's nails short to prevent from dirt, food, and germs growing under there.

8) Blow your nose. I do not know how many times I have seen kids with snotty noses. The crud has to come out. Teach your kids how to blow their noses. Them sucking the boogies back up their nose, or wiping them on their sleeves is not good. I buy my kids the to go tissues that they can carry on them. My son keeps them in his backpack. To go hand sanitizers are great too for on the go.

9) Switch toothbrush. How many times a year do you switch your toothbrush? Germs can grow on toothbrushes. You could be making yourself sick.  

10) Sickness alert. Kids are little and sometimes cannot express themselves or tell you what is wrong. Pay attention to their normal-ness, i.e. how to they normally act when they are not sick. Try catching illnesses early. Teach them to tell you when their tummies are upset, when their heads hurt, or are feeling hot. This way you can catch it early and give them medicine to help them feel better. Therefore stopping germs from spreading at your house, daycare, or schools.

PediaCare® is a brand that was founded to develop safe and effective medicines for children, that you can count on.  When your little one starts showing signs of illness, choose from their line of specialized medicines for kids.  

PediaCare® products can be found at a Dollar General near you.

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