20 November 2017
 Categories: , Blog

There's nothing more disheartening than watching your child lie sick and helpless in bed with the cold or flu. The only thing you can do during such moments is to make them some chicken or noodle soup and keep them warm. It is common for young ones to fall sick when it's cold due to the exposure to environmental pollutants, viruses, and bacteria. Luckily, there are steps that you can take to ensure that your kids don't contract the flu as they go to kindergarten, daycare, or play with other kids when it's cold. These measures include the following:

Teach them to wash hands

Most kids know that they should wash their hands after visiting the washroom and before eating. However, this is not enough to keep them away from the cold and flu viruses during the cold season. Teach them to also wash their hands after coughing, sneezing, blowing their noses and playing with their toys. When the hands are clean, viruses lose the primary media in which they travel, and this will minimize infections. If every parent taught this to their child, there would be few kids falling ill in school and daycare facilities.

Keep them warm

The cold season is characterized by rain, snow and low temperatures which create suitable environments for bacteria and viruses to thrive. When your kid is cold, they are susceptible to contracting infections. You can protect them by putting them in more than one layer of clothing. Follow the following tips when choosing the best clothes to keep them warm:

• The inner layer should be made up of woolen or synthetic clothes which draw moisture and prevent sweating.
• The middle layer should comprise of wool, fleece, or down materials, and its purpose is to prevent heat loss in the body.
• The outer layer should be made up of the protective, waterproof clothes that keep out the rain, wind, and snow.

Follow these layering tips to ensure that your child isn't too hot. Sweating causes the child to become cold and can make things worse.

Disinfect toys regularly

The young ones can easily contract viruses and bacteria from their toys. This can happen when they put the toys in their mouth or if they rub the eyes, nose or mouth after touching the toys. To avoid this, always disinfect their toys with a mild product and rinse them thoroughly. If the child goes to a daycare facility, ensure that the toys the kids play with are disinfected on a daily basis to avoid transfer of bacteria.

Follow these tips to protect your young one from illnesses during the cold season, and make sure the child care center your child attends enforces these rules too. You can also get flu shots to ensure that they are safe even when they interact with other kids who have contracted the cold or flu.