# Kids and Germs: Teaching Hygiene is Fun!
## Introduction
Let’s face it: kids are microbe magnets. They also like to share. These little humans don’t come into the world knowing that spraying a sneeze in your face or wiping a runny nose and then putting their dirty little hands in their mouths is a big No-No. But they can learn from you.
Dr. Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious disease expert, emphasizes that children mirror the behavior they see in the adults in their lives. So, it’s up to you to help kids learn that while sharing is loving, no one wants their germs. By teaching good hygiene manners, you can potentially reduce the number of colds and other ailments that can affect your children. And guess what? It can even be fun!
## Soap and Water: Our Best Friends
Most children have between six and eight colds a year, even more if they are in crowded places like daycares. One of the first lines of defense is handwashing, a prevention tactic we’ve been hearing a lot about since the COVID-19 outbreak. Washing your hands for about 20 seconds can do the trick. There are only five steps to washing your hands: wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry.
Dr. Renee Slade, a pediatrician, emphasizes the importance of children learning to wash their hands after using the bathroom, touching a potentially germy surface, before and after eating, playing with pets or playing outside, and after coughing or sneezing.
#### Tips to Make Handwashing Fun
Since kids love to mess around, lathering up shouldn’t be a problem. To make it more fun, try these tips:
– Sing “Happy Birthday” twice or play counting to reach the 20-second mark.
– Use colorful and scented soaps that kids find appealing.
– Have fun-shaped soap dispensers or character-themed washcloths to make handwashing more enjoyable.
Remember, children mirror the adults in their lives. By setting a good example and practicing proper hand hygiene yourself, you can effectively teach your child proper hygiene habits.
## The Inside Elbow Trick
When you sneeze or cough without covering your face, you spread germs onto your unsuspecting friends and can leave those germs on nearby surfaces. This is where teaching your children the inside elbow trick can be a big help.
Dr. Slade suggests that the inside of the elbow is a great place to cover coughs and sneezes because it not only stops the spread of germs but is also a body part that is not frequently touched. Once again, the best way to teach this trick is to do it yourself. But you can also turn it into a game or even a dance, called a dab. Just put one arm straight up in the air and bend the other elbow in toward your face.
However, it is important to note that wiping runny noses with the inside of elbows is not recommended. Instead, teach them to use tissues or bandanas. Dr. Edwards shares her personal experience of keeping a special drawer full of tissues for her kids, making it a fun and interactive way to encourage good cough and sneeze manners.
## Eating Well for Immunity
Maybe you’re lucky and your child prefers leafy greens to potatoes slathered in ranch dressing. If not, you’re not alone. But good nutrition is important for building a child’s immune system to fight germs.
Dr. Slade explains that a good balanced diet provides all the necessary nutrients to help build children’s immune systems so they can fight off a cold. Adding nutrient-dense foods, like beta carotene from carrots and tomatoes, vitamin C from citrus fruits and berries, milk proteins, eggs, lean meats, fish, and legumes, can boost their immune system. Don’t forget about vitamin D found in fish, eggs, or fortified milk, and yogurt which provides gut bacteria that are good for immunity.
#### Tips to Make Eating Healthy Fun
Getting your child to eat healthy can be a challenge, but here are some tips to make it more exciting:
– Expose your child to a variety of healthy foods from a young age.
– Make mealtime fun by letting them choose from the good-for-you foods you offer.
– Cut fruits and vegetables into animal shapes or make colorful salads to add some excitement to their plate.
– Involve your child in grocery shopping and cooking activities to develop their interest in healthy eating.
The key is to make healthy eating enjoyable and explore new flavors together.
## The Benefits of a Little Dirt
Playing outside is not only fun but also beneficial for immune health. Despite getting a little dirty, playing outdoors helps build children’s immune systems.
Dr. Edwards encourages her kids to play outside, get dirty, and explore because it helps build their immune systems. This aligns with the “hygiene hypothesis,” which suggests that our ultra-sanitized environments do not offer enough exposure to germs that can “teach” the immune system to fight infectious organisms. So, letting your kids play in the dirt is actually good for them!
All that outdoor activity also promotes a good night’s sleep, which is important for a child’s immune health. Lack of sleep can deplete certain chemicals that help fight infection, making your child more prone to a stuffy nose.
### Sharing Can Spread Germs
You want your children to learn the value of sharing, but some things should not be shared, especially when it comes to spreading germs. Explain to them that sharing items like food or drinks, eating utensils, and straws can make them and their friends sick.
## Conclusion
Can all these fun and good hygiene practices keep your child completely free from colds? According to Dr. Edwards, the answer is no. However, the goal is to reduce the number of infections since eliminating them completely is practically impossible.
By implementing common-sense strategies like washing hands, covering mouths and noses, eating and sleeping well, and getting flu shots, you can keep young immune systems battle-ready. It’s important for children to have fun, explore, and enjoy life, rather than living in a bubble.
Teaching kids about hygiene doesn’t have to be boring. With creativity and a sense of fun, you can instill good habits that will benefit them throughout their lives, while also reducing the number of colds and illnesses they experience. So, let’s face it, teaching hygiene can be a fun and rewarding experience for both you and your child!
## Summary
Kids are prone to catching germs, but you can teach them good hygiene habits to reduce the number of colds and other illnesses they experience. Handwashing with soap and water for 20 seconds is essential, and teaching children to cover their coughs and sneezes with the inside of their elbows can help prevent the spread of germs. Encouraging healthy eating habits and allowing children to play outdoors and get dirty can boost their immune systems. However, it’s important to teach them not to share items that can spread germs. Ultimately, it’s about finding a balance between teaching good hygiene and allowing children to have fun and enjoy life.
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Let’s face it: kids are microbe magnets. They also like to share. These little humans don’t come into the world knowing that spraying a sneeze in your face or wiping a runny nose and then putting their dirty little hands in their mouths is a big No-No. But they can learn from you. “Children mirror the behavior they see in the adults in their lives,” says Amy Edwards, MD, a pediatric infectious disease expert at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, OH.
That means it’s up to you to help kids learn that while sharing is loving, no one wants their germs. Not only can you teach good hygiene manners, but you can also potentially reduce the number of colds and other ailments that can affect your children. And it can even be fun.
Soap and water are your friends
Most children have between six and eight colds a year, even more if they are in crowded places like daycares. One of the first lines of defense is handwashing, a prevention tactic we’ve been hearing a lot about since the COVID-19 outbreak. Washing your hands for about 20 seconds can do the trick.
There are only five steps to washing your hands: wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry. “It’s important that children learn to wash their hands after using the bathroom, touching a potentially germy surface, before and after eating, playing with pets or playing outside, and after coughing or sneezing,” Renee says. Slade, MD, a pediatrician at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Since kids love to mess around, lathering up shouldn’t be a problem, and to get to that 20-second mark, sing “Happy Birthday” twice or play counting. Since children mirror the adults in their lives, the example of you washing your hands could go a long way in teaching your child proper hygiene.
inside the elbow trick
When you sneeze or cough and don’t cover your face, you spew germs onto your unsuspecting friends and can leave those germs on nearby surfaces. So learning to cover your coughs and sneezes with the inside of your elbow can be a big help. “The inside of the elbow is great because it will not only help stop the spread of germs, but it’s also a place you don’t touch a lot,” says Slade.
Once again, the best way to teach this trick is to do it yourself. But you can also turn it into a game or even a dance called a dab. Just put one arm straight up in the air and bend the other elbow in toward your face. Your child will laugh at you, or with you, while he learns good cough and sneeze manners.
Don’t let your children wipe their runny noses with the inside of their elbows. Instead, teach them all about knitting. Or go green with bandanas. “I have a special drawer full of tissues, and my kids know they have to get some out when they sneeze or cough, and they think it’s fun,” Edwards says.
Maybe you’re lucky and your child prefers leafy greens to potatoes slathered in ranch dressing. If not, you’re not alone. But good nutrition is important to building a child’s immune system to fight germs. “Very simply, a good balanced diet will provide all the necessary nutrients to help build children’s immune systems so they can fight off a cold,” says Slade. And if they’re healthy, an occasional potato feast won’t hurt.
The best medicine is on your plate
Boosting a balanced immune system means eating nutrient-dense foods, such as beta carotene, from carrots and tomatoes, and vitamin C, from citrus fruits and berries. Milk proteins, eggs, lean meats, fish and legumes are also very important. Don’t forget about vitamin D found in fish and eggs, or in fortified milk. And yogurt can be a great treat by providing gut bacteria that are also good for immunity.
In getting your child to eat healthy, variety can be the spice of life. “What a child prefers to eat starts at a fairly early age, so it’s important to expose your child to a variety of healthy foods, because the more they try, the more they’ll enjoy,” says Edwards. As your kids get older, make it fun by letting them choose what they’d like from the good-for-you foods you offer. Giving children a little say in the matter is much more fun than cutting vegetables and fruits into animal shapes.
A little dirt is good for you
Playing outside is good for you and your children. Sure, they can get a little dirty, but your immune system is getting a major boost from all that exercise and maybe even the dirt. “I absolutely encourage my kids to play outside, get dirty and explore because it helps build their immune systems,” Edwards says.
According to the “hygiene hypothesis,” our ultra-sanitized environments do not offer enough exposure to germs that can “teach” the immune system to learn how to fight infectious organisms.
All that outdoor activity can also better promote a good night’s sleep. And that’s important for a child’s immune health. “If adults or children don’t get enough sleep, certain chemicals that help fight infection are depleted,” Edwards says. And that means your child could be more prone to a stuffy nose.
Sometimes it’s better not to share
You want your children to share. But explain to them that sharing things like food or drinks, eating utensils, and straws is just too nice. You can spread germs that make them and their friends sick.
Colds are a fact of life
Can all this fun and good advice keep your child completely cold-free? “Absolutely not,” says Edwards. The question is trying to reduce the number of infections, since eliminating them completely is practically impossible.
Common-sense strategies like washing your hands, covering your mouth and nose, eating and sleeping well, and getting your child a flu shot can go a long way toward keeping young immune systems battle-ready. “I don’t want children to live in a bubble; I want them to be kids and have fun,” adds Edwards.
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