My preschooler eats things off the floor, kisses our dog directly on the lips, and plays her harmonica by jamming half of it in her mouth. (Pro tip: If she asks you to join her band, go with the drums.) And that’s just while she’s under my watchful eye.
What in the world are our kids doing at school? I’m afraid to ask.
But more importantly, how can we keep kids healthy during the school year, when we’re not there to drown them in sanitizer?
Keep Kids Healthy By Starting at Home
Keeping kids healthy in school actually starts at home. In fact, there are more healthy habits you can practice at home to keep kids healthy in school, than healthy habits they can practice at school!
Provide plenty of healthy foods.
Cutting down on processed junk food and increasing healthy foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and proteins, can help to boost children’s immune systems.
Struggling to break your kid’s chicken nugget addiction? Then check out our post, How to Get Kids to Eat Healthy Foods | 9 Tricks to Win Over Your Tiny Humans, for the best way to get started!
Keep them well hydrated.
Proper hydration plays a huge role in keeping children’s immune system in tip-top shape. So make sure they’re drinking plenty of water and limiting juices and sodas.
If allowed, send them to school with a reusable water bottle. This water bottle is one of my favorites, with over 30 different designs to match my preschooler’s over 30 different moods.
Set an earlier bedtime to ensure they’re getting enough sleep.
Getting sufficient sleep is one of the most effective healthy habits young children can develop, since sleep is crucial to immune system function. In fact, losing even a few hours of sleep in one night can increase inflammation and interfere with your body’s ability to stay healthy.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests the following number of hours of sleep for optimal health:
- Ages 4-12 months: 12-16 hours (including naps)
- Ages 1-2 years: 11-14 hours (including naps)
- Ages 3-5 years: 10-13 hours (including naps)
- Age 6-12 years: 9-12 hours
- Age 13-18 years: 8-10 hours
Get them moving!
Regular physical activity boosts children’s immune systems, is fantastic for mental health, and decreases screen time. Bonus points for breathing in fresh air while they’re at it.
Check out this post for a few ideas on how to get more physical activity as a family.
Help them manage stress.
Stress is incredibly effective at lowering the number and potency of infection-fighting cells in your body. That’s why it’s so important to take preventative measures to help decrease the stress load placed on young children.
Helping young kids decrease stress involves a variety of strategies that focus on emotional support, physical activity, and mindfulness. Here are some methods to consider:
- Encourage Expressive Writing: Research suggests that expressing yourself in writing can help reduce mental distress and improve overall mental health.
- Physical Activity: Engage your children in physical activity, which can include family walks, bike riding, or shooting hoops in the driveway.
- Muscle Relaxation Exercises: Children can relieve stress by learning to tense and relax each muscle group with the help of an adult.
- Facing Fears: Encourage your child to face their fears rather than avoid them, and remind them that it’s okay to be imperfect.
- Reframing Stress: Teach children to see stress as a normal part of life and help them develop resilience by reframing stress as a challenge to overcome rather than a threat.
- Mindfulness and Yoga: Introducing mindfulness practices, yoga, or other physical activity can help reduce stress and anxiety in children.
- Deep Breathing Exercises: Practice deep breathing with your children by taking deep breaths in for a count of five seconds, holding for a few seconds, and then slowly exhaling.
Incorporating these preventative measures can help your young kids manage and decrease stress in a healthy and productive way.
Laugh together.
Laughter might just really be the best medicine. It bolsters children’s immune systems, decreases stress, and helps put things in perspective. So don’t be afraid to get silly with your young children!
Consider a multivitamin.
A lot of health experts, including those at the American Academy of Pediatrics, insist you shouldn’t need a multivitamin if you’re eating a well-balanced diet. But not many of us actually are eating a 100% healthy diet.
Enter the multivitamin, to keep your immune system functioning at its best.
I’ll always believe whole food multivitamins are the best way to go but they can get expensive, and fast! These highly-rated gummy vitamins are a great alternative, with 190 vitamins, including Vitamin C and Vitamin D for immune support!
Keep your house clean.
I like to walk around with a Clorox wipe every few days, wiping down door knobs, light switches, and other germ-infested areas to help stop the spread of germs. Picking up as you go is also the best way to find and eliminate mysterious sticky-slimeyness before it has a chance to sit and breed bacteria.
Keep Kids Healthy at School
After you’ve covered your bases at home, there are a few preventative measures you can teach your kids to practice at school to avoid sickness.
Teach them how and when to wash hands.
They should use soap and warm water, and wash hands as long as it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice. And don’t forget to use a paper towel to turn off the water and open the door!
Hand washing should occur after using the restroom, after recess, and before eating.
Use hand sanitizer mindfully.
While the Center for Disease Control recommends you wash hands with soap and water rather than hand sanitizer whenever possible, sometimes a sink is just not available in places like the gym or playground. In these instances, young children may benefit from the occasional use of hand sanitizer.
Take time to teach your children how much hand sanitizer they need (most kids overdo it) and demonstrate the best way to apply it, rubbing your hands together until they’re dry. This can to further combat the spread of germs, especially during flu season.
Keep hands away from eyes, nose, and mouth.
These are entry points for the spread of germs into the body, so it’s important to avoid touching them whenever possible. Teaching your kids this, and then monitoring and correcting the behavior at home, will give them a better shot at carrying this habit through the school day.
Teach them the Dracula cough.
Young children, just like adults, should avoid coughing or sneezing into their hands. Instead, teach them to pull their “cape” across their face and sneeze into the crook of their arm.
Bam! They’re a vampire. Throw in an “ah, ah, ah!” for good measure.
This preventative measure not only keeps young children from sneezing into their hands, but also helps avoid the spread of germs and possible respiratory infections.
Avoid sharing their water bottle, food, or other personal items.
This one’s a no-brainer. Sharing personal items is a fantastic way to share ickiness.
With just a few preventative measures, we can help keep kids healthy in school. By encouraging healthy habits at home and at school, our kids can do even more than avoid sickness; they can enjoy the energy, focus, and positive attitude that come from being in excellent health.
Now please excuse me while I sanitize the harmonica…
P.S. Need some simple after-school dinner ideas? Download our free ebook of 40 stupid easy recipes that will save you major time and effort, but keep that family happy!
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