How to Keep Kids Free from Colds

Kids will inevitably bring home a head cold from school and pass it around to everyone without meaning to. Familykenkel coughs up some suggestions for keeping kids cold free at school and at home.

• Remind kids to wash their hands after using the bathroom at home and school.
• Give them some hand sanitizer in a scent they like and pack one in their backpack.
• Stick a few purse size packs of tissues in their bags and remind them to use it when coughing or sneezing.
• Remind them to use the hand sanitizer after touching handrails, doorknobs and bathroom fixtures.
• Give them a glass of OJ in the morning along with a multi vitamin with zinc, as it has been proven to ward off colds in children.
• Feed them healthy foods that are filling and provide a lunch they will like with snacks to keep them full.
• Be sure they are dressed appropriately for school with different layers of warmth to shed as the day goes on. Don’t forget gloves, mittens and hats.
• Enforce a regular bedtime every night. Check on kids after 15 minutes to be sure the light is out and no digital devices are being used.

Familykenkel  notes that when a child develops a fever with a head cold, administer a children’s ibuprofen to reduce it. Most colds are viral in nature and not bacterial. Oddly, more antibiotics are prescribed to help kids get over colds. Of course, never make a kid go to school if they say they don’t feel well and have a low-grade fever. By the time they come home, the cold could have turned in to something worse like the flu or strep throat.