Back-to-School Stay Healthy Guide
Back to School Health Guide
Take it from someone who has spent all her adult years in a school, they are filled with germs! Even if a school takes the necessary precautions, kids are walking Petri dishes and illnesses are bound to come up. Here are the most helpful tips/remedies that I have come across.
What to Implement at Home and School:
1. Teaching your child to wash hands before and after eating, after using the restroom, and after playing outside. I know this seems like common sense, but these make a significant difference in keeping illnesses at bay with your little. Do you make sure they wash their hands every time before having a snack or a meal? What about when they come home from school or the play ground? Having a routine of cleanliness will help greatly in the prevention of illnesses.
2. Using the inside of their elbow to sneeze. If you use the inside of your elbow instead of your hand, then you are keeping your hands, that will be touching things, germ-free. With kids, it’s better practice to have them use the inside of their elbow, because it is not very likely they will stop what they are doing to wash their hands after every sneeze.
3. Using a paper towel to open bathroom doors. My daughter has been doing this since she was two years old. They will love being able to help and the sense of independence it brings.
4. Whenever someone at home is sick, try to air out the house as much as possible, by opening doors and windows and running the fan. Diffusing essential oils can be helpful in purifying the air. Personally, I like lemon essential oil best.
5. If one of my kids are sick, I try the best I can to keep them from each other, but it’s impossible. What I can do though, is take most of the toys that are out and put them away, only leaving out two or three toys that are easy to sanitize. I will clean those toys nightly once the kids have gone to sleep, to try and eliminate germ spreading further.
6. Changing my sick child’s bedding daily, or at least their pillowcase, to eliminate germs from spreading. In addition to bedding, if your children share rooms, have your child that is sick sleep in a different room (yours perhaps), to eliminate stagnation of contaminated air to breathe.
7. If they attend school, making sure they implement hand washing before eating, after coming in from playing outside, and after the bathroom.
8. Making sure the school has a sick policy set into place: when is a child sent home for being sick and when are they able to return? Do they inform parents if there is more than one case of something happening at school (for example, the school should let you know if more than two or three cases of a particular illness that have occurred i.e. pink eye, hand/foot/mouth, croup, etc.)? How do they prevent future breakouts of contagious illnesses that spread quickly through schools? How often are toys and play structures cleaned at the school?
Remedy prevention for kids:
1. A good multivitamin
2. Giving my child a healthy shake or a fresh green juice daily
3. Elderberry syrup to boost vitamin C if they are coming down with something, or if something is going around at school.
4. Rubbing an immunity booster essential oil on the bottom of your kid’s feet or their spine before school (I am not for sure if this works, but I am willing to give it a shot).
Stay healthy guide for parents:
I always follow the same type of protocol as I follow for my kids. In addition, I keep fermented garlic on hand in the fridge. A few studies have shown garlic to have some antibiotic properties. Whenever I’m feeling a bit under the weather, I pop a few fermented cloves in my mouth every few hours. This is extremely effective for me. I use a recipe I found from www.growforagecookferment.com.
***I am not a health professional. You should ask your healthcare practitioner and your child’s pediatrician before implementing any health remedies.
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What are some tips and tricks you use to keep you and your kids healthy, happy, and germ-free?