by Angela V 
As little ones everywhere get back into the school routine the feared flu and cold season is coming. Did you know that seasonal flu activity can begin as early as October? Here are a few tips to help you and your little ones survive cold and flu season and avoid getting sick.
Hand Washing Routine
Wash your hands and make sure your little one washes his/her hands a lot too. If you ever come in contact with somebody who is contagious ensure you wash your hands right away. Soap and water and a good hand scrub, 20 seconds or more, is all you need to get rid of viruses from your skin. Make sure you scrub between your fingers and the backs of your hands. Teach your little one to sing a song like “Happy Birthday” twice while washing to make sure they scrubbed long enough.
Remind little ones to wash their hands after using the restroom and before sitting down for snack or lunch time at school.
Carry Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer
What do you do when there’s no washrooms nearby to clean your or your child’s hands? What if you are at the park and they are reaching for a snack? Carry a small bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and apply. I always carry a small bottle inside of my diaper bag. Using sanitizer can kill cold and flu germs and it’s perfect when you can’t get to soap and water.
Let Some Fresh Air In and Keep Your Home Clean
Open your windows and allow for fresh air to come into your home. Keep your surroundings clean and sanitize doorknobs and light switches weekly. Ask visitors to wash their hands when they come in and create a routine when each family members washes their hands upon entering the home.
Avoid Play-Dates and Meetings with Sick People
Don’t schedule any playdates or invite people over if you or your children are not feeling well. Expect the same common curtesy from friends and families and avoid visiting people with colds or the flu if you don’t have to. If somebody at home comes down with the cold make sure to disinfect shared used items like towels, bed sheets, cutlery etc.
Sometimes even after taking many precautions you get sick. If your little one comes down with a cold or the flu follow your doctors advice and make sure he/she stays hydrated and gets enough rest. At the onset of cold/flu symptoms we usually rush to the store to pick up some Boogie Wipes for the kids. They are extra soft children’s wipes made with saline to dissolve mucus and they are gentle to avoid raw noses. A great alternative to dry tissue and highly recommended. My son also loves that some are scented like Great Grape, Fresh Scent, Magic Menthol (for extra stuffy noses), Simply Unscented and Boogieberry.
How do you prepare to survive cold and flu season?
Disclosure: I received a sample of a product to facilitate my post. All views and opinions stated on this post are 100% my own.
18 Comments on “Tips to Survive Cold and Flu Season”
I HATE cold and flu season 🙁 Thanks for the tips.
Dreaded season, so sad when children get sick!
Great tips! We are so prone to cold and flu!
Some good tips here, thanks for sharing. I am luckily not prone to colds and flu but I will still be getting a flu jab again this year 🙂
Those are really great tips. When we head back to school, colds usually follow short there after. I am interested in trying some boogie wipes this year.
with the start of school comes the onslaught of germs and viruses, these Boogie wipes are grand!
Hand washing routine-I agree with you that hand-washing is possibly the best way to get rid of viruses. Did you know that when Dr.Lister tried to get fellow doctors to wash their hands, they were highly insulted. He realized that germs were being spread from cadavers to live patients and it took quite a while for the rest of the medical community to catch up to him. Kudos for Dr. LIster and all the people who wash their hands often with soap and water.
great tips
Carry a small bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer.–I think this is a wonderful idea for oneself and especially for children. We realize that they usually have less immunity then adults and are prone to colds and other ‘bug.’ so it makes sense to offer them the protection of hand washing without the water. This is a sensible idea for all mothers of young children.
Awesome tips. Colds are making their rounds, especially with the drastic change in weather.
I have stocked up and I am ready
We have already passed a bad cold around our house. Fortunately, I had stocked up on the Boogie Wipes!
Let Some Fresh Air In and Keep Your Home Clean… My mother always opened the covers, that opened our storm windows to the outside air; every evening before we went to bed. Even when it was well below zero, we were exposed to the fresh air outside for a time every evening. She believed it was necessary for good health and it seemed to work very well. I remember having only one serious cold during my childhood. -But I was very happy when she closed those covers and put the inner window sash down and the room warmed up again!.
A void Play-Dates and Meetings with Sick People… –This would seem like a no-brainer but people travel when there are ‘bugs’ on the go. I remember when my middle daughter was little, I took her to some sort of meeting since I did not have a babysitter for her. A few days later, she came down with some sort of measles. I never took my children out anywhere again, except to their grandmothers’ when the latter were well.
I still prepare for winter by having cold medications in the house, like cough syrup, etc.
When my children were small , I prepared for the cold and flu season by: making sure their immunization was up to date; bought over the counter cold medicines and cough syrups; make sure my children ate healthy meals so they were getting their vitamins; made sure they got lots of sleep; dressed them for the weather; ;kept them inside on cold days; did not visit too much in the winter; made sure items were kept clean and dishes were washed and scalded.
I took them to the doctor promptly if I thought they had an illness that I felt unqualified to care for without their advice.
These measures worked well most of the time but they still did catch some illnesses but, fortunately, nothing serious.
Once kids get back in school the runny noses and sore throats and cough seem to start
We have the dreaded winter cold,its terrible
School = germs and viruses…grandson had had runny nose twice