Summer hung on for a long time in much of the United States, but colder temperatures are beginning to prevail, with many areas already seeing snow.
Even those who love the fuzzy sweaters, warm fires, and hot cocoa that the colder temperatures bring, dread the inevitable colds and sicknesses the cooler air seems to usher in with it.
While it may be impossible to avoid every sniffle this winter, being aware of what weapons truly work against winter illnesses will go a long way towards fighting off the worst of them.
The Wear Your Coat Myth
Let’s first talk about what doesn’t work to prevent colds.
You’ve probably heard it a thousand times — or even said it yourself — "Put your coat on or you’ll catch a cold!"
For whatever reason, many kids don’t like to wear coats at temperatures we think they need them.
The good news from your child’s perspective is that being cold doesn’t cause you to get a cold. (Which is probably also good news for parents, since we can quit harping on our kids to put that coat on).
A cold is caused by a virus finding its way into your mouth, nose, or eyes.
So why do our kids tend to get the cold and flu bugs when winter comes?
There could be a couple of reasons.
First, cold weather dries out the lining of your nose, making it easier to get an infection. This means a scarf or face mask may be more helpful to your child than that coat he doesn’t want to wear.
Second, we tend to spend more time inside in the winter and therefore are in closer contact with each other, making it easier for viruses to spread.
If it’s not as simple as wearing your coat, then what can we do to ensure that our kids aren’t fighting illness all winter?
These five strategies will help.
1. Keep a Strong Immune System
This one is really key. Kids with strong immune systems fight off viruses that put other kids in bed for a week.
Unfortunately, research shows it’s not enough to shove a bunch of supplements down their throats each day and call it good.
Proper hydration and nutrition are key to a healthy immune system.
Encourage your kids to drink water throughout the day. They’ll naturally be tempted to slow down on the water consumption because they aren’t getting hot and thirsty, but they need it more than ever in the winter.
Make sure your child’s diet consists of lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, as well as probiotics. You can find probiotics in foods such as yogurt, but this is one area where a good probiotic supplement should also be added in, especially in the winter.
Another factor that will build a strong immune system is encouraging your child to play outside, in the summer and winter.
Outside play that may seem to just result in dirty kids is actually giving your child helpful exposure to microbes and germs he needs to diversify the bacteria in the stomach, strengthening him to protect against the bad germs that try to invade.
2. Wash Your Hands
This one’s so easy to do, yet so easy not to do that the effectiveness of it can sometimes be overlooked.
The viruses that cause illnesses typically go from ours hands to our nose or eyes, which are the portals for infection.
So keeping the hands clean can cut way down on the number of viruses that have a chance to attack the system.
Running a little water over your hands won’t do the trick, however.
Make sure your kids use soap, and wash for 20 to 30 seconds. Encourage them to sing a simple song like Happy Birthday, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, or their ABCs, and to wash until the song is complete.
3. Sleep
This is one that’s closely related to the immune system, which weakens when you consistently deprive yourself of sleep.
There is some evidence to suggest that cold weather weakens the immune system, which means getting enough sleep is extra important in the winter so as not to multiply the effects of the lower temperatures.
Not having enough sleep also causes kids (and all of us!) to be more irritable and susceptible to stress. Stress also weakens the immune system.
So try to work in a little extra sleep in the colder months, especially if your child’s been around sick people, or you see the beginnings of a cold coming on.
You can figure out how much sleep your kids need to function at their best, but generally preschoolers need 10-13 hours, older kids need 9-11 hours, and teenagers should get 8-10 hours of sleep.
Again, this is one where you don’t want to underestimate what a difference it can make. At least one study has shown that kids who lack sufficient sleep are twice as likely to get sick.
4. Ban Sharing
Obviously, sharing creates a breeding ground for the transfer of viruses from one child to another.
Don’t wait until one child has a cold to say, “Don’t drink after him, he had a cold.”
The virus is there before the symptoms appear.
In the colder months it’s just best to have a no sharing policy when it comes to pretty much everything your child touches, which means even encouraging him to make sure he uses all his own school supplies.
Don’t get crazy of course, keeping your kids in a bubble is worse than enduring an occasional cold. Younger kids especially will share toys as they play together, but to the extent that it’s convenient and possible, limiting sharing goes a long way towards preventing the sharing of viruses.
5. Keep it Clean at School
Naturally, school is going to be the place where most of these viruses are passed around like candy.
Do your part to prevent this by being aware of the places most germs are found, which would be around any item widely used by everyone, most notably the water fountain.
Send your kids to school with a water bottle. Many schools are turning their fountains into water bottle refill stations too, in an effort to cut down on the number of kids putting their mouths on the drinking fountain.
Encourage your child to avoid communally used items like the class pencil sharpener by making sure he has what he needs in his own supplies, including his drink, lip balm, and hair brush.
Another precaution you may want to take is having your child bring his lunch to school during the colder months. Studies show that cafeteria lunch trays are one of the most fertile sources of germs.
Finally, make sure to have your child clean and wipe out his backpack on a regular basis, as this is another item he’s touching all the time but rarely if ever cleaning.
Keep it in Perspective
Don’t become that mom, who obsesses to the point of taking the fun out of life.
As we’ve seen, there are many fairly easy precautions you can take to keep your kids from being sick all winter.
But inevitably it will happen once or twice a season, and they’ll get over it.
In fact, some studies suggest that younger children who get sick actually have fewer reoccurrences as they get older and their body builds up more defenses to the viruses that brought them down in their earlier years.
So when the bug does hit, put on the tea kettle, pull out the warm blankets, and try to take advantage of the extra snuggle time the healing process will give you with your child.
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