Keeping kids healthy at the start of a new school year can be a daunting task. They’re playing, making new friends, and coming into close contact with a large number of people on a daily basis.  You can’t always stop your kids from getting sick, but you can help increase the odds of staying healthy by reminding them about these commonsense tips that really do help.

Healthy Hands; Happy Home

Children of all ages can always use reminding that frequent hand washing is one of the most effective ways to fight the spread of illness. By their very nature, small children love to touch things. It’s easy to see how an infectious illness rapidly spreads: A child who’s not feeling very well decides to play with a ball. Now another child picks that same ball up and plays with it just before lunch. Reminding them to wash their hands regularly before eating, after using the toilet and after sneezing can go a long way toward keeping them healthy — AND reduce the spread of infection. Health Tip: Pack hand sanitizer for those times when it’s not easy to go to the bathroom.

Cover Your Sneeze, Please

An uncovered cough or sneeze is one of the quickest ways to spread a virus. What one child blows out, the others around breathe in. Encourage your child to use a tissue to cover their coughs and sneezes. Always dispose of a used tissue properly and wash or sanitize your hands afterward. Health Tip: The inside of your elbow is the next best place for a cough or sneeze if a tissue isn’t handy.

Look, Mom! No Hands!

It might be next to impossible to keep preschoolers from doing this, but start teaching your child as soon as possible to keep their hands out of their mouths and away from their noses. For some older kids, the battle might be over the biting of fingernails. Health Tip: It’s also a good idea to remind them not to share drinks or foods.

Keeping up-to-date on vaccinations, eating healthy, and getting plenty of sleep all play an important role in keeping your child healthy. And while these tips may seem mostly geared toward small children, older kids and even teenagers need to hear them as well.

Even if you follow the recommendations and do everything possible to stay healthy, getting a cold or the flu may still happen. If it does, AFC Urgent Care is here for you 7 days a week to diagnose your illness, provide medications and recommendations for getting better, and help you and your family stay healthy.