Keeping Our Children Healthy During Cold& Flu Season
Fall can be such a beautiful time of year as we see green leaves changing to crisp shades of red and orange, our vibrant sunsets greet us earlier each evening, and our children are back in the swing of a new school year. With this new season, it took my own kids less than a week after school started to come home with their first viral colds of the season.
As parents, we try so hard to do whatever we can to keep our kids healthy, but it seems inevitable, especially this time of year, that we deal with colds on a regular basis. It’s normal for children in school or childcare to get up to 10-12 viral illness per year! But fear not, there are some ways we can help our little ones reduce the number of illnesses they get during the year.
A great place to start - ensure our children get seasonal vaccinations against flu and protect our babies from RSV with the RSV antibody injection. These measures don’t fully prevent your child from getting infected with these viruses, rather they make potential infections less severe and less likely of being hospitalized. If you haven’t already, reach out to your child’s pediatrician to schedule a time to discuss these in more detail and get your kiddos vaccinated.
Teaching appropriate hand washing to our little ones is one of the most important ways we can work to reduce illnesses. Teach them to wet their hands, get soap, and scrub all surfaces of their hands for at least 20 seconds (as long as it takes to sing the “ABCs” or “Happy Birthday”), then rinse afterwards. Hand sanitizer can be an appropriate alternative when soap and water are not as easily accessible.
Another important measure to reduce illness spread is to follow you’re center or school’s sick-child policy and keep your kids home as indicated. These can vary somewhat by institution and based on the illness but at a minimum, your child should be fever-free (meaning a temperature of less than 100.4 F) for at least 24 hours without receiving any fever reducing medicines like Tylenol or Motrin before returning.
As with most things child health related, ensuring your child gets appropriate sleep, hydration, and a balanced diet goes a long way to help them stay healthy and quickly combat any illness going around.
Sleep should be anywhere from 8-12 hours per night based on their age with younger kids needing closer to 12 hours
Hydration should be preferably with water; the amount needed varies based on age and amount of physical activity with 1- to 3-year-olds needing around 32 oz of fluid per day up to around 64 oz per day for older children)
Diet should be balanced, and of course, with minimum or no ultra processed foods. It really DOES make a difference.
Always know too that you are never alone when managing your child’s illness. Your child’s pediatrician is another important member of your team to ensure your little one remains as healthy as they can and we always encourage our families to call or text us directly if they are ever worried.
