Back To School And Not Getting Sick = MIRACLE

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Ever feel like as soon as your kids go back to school, daycare, or mother’s day out, they come home with some mega-germ that leaves them sick for a week?  

Yup!  It happens to us every year.

headed back to school and avoiding germs my son with his germ carrier  backpack

Now I have a two year old in preschool, along with my ten year old.  And you know the drill, once one has it, it pretty much runs through the whole house.  Although usually my husband doesn’t get it but I do. It’s like a cruel joke. 

It always leaves me wondering: Why do my kids get sick?! They take baths and have their immunizations!  Shouldn’t that be enough?  I’d love to think so.  

But honestly, sometimes I’m amazed that they’re not sick more.  Indulge me as I go full germaphobe for a moment and let’s just walk through my son Brayden’s day: 

He goes to his new locker which previously belonged to someone else, and has probably never seen a Clorox wipe. At some point he heads to recess and plays outside, touching all those monkey bars and the playground equipment where every other hand in school has been (and maybe even a squirrel or two when no one’s around).  Maybe he passes a bottle of hand sanitizer somewhere along the way and feels compelled to grab a squirt, maybe not. Lunch happens with everyone else at a cafeteria table where,  like a little germ meet-up group, they all come together. He’ll take a bathroom break, and at this point there will be at least a half-hearted attempt at hand washing, likely the only one for the day. He blows his nose on his arm, shares paint brushes in art class, goes to a different desk every period… and then what does he do? He comes home. Congratulations! We all just got sick.

Needless to say, there’s a LOT of immune building happening over here. So now that I’ve grossed you out, I’ve made a list of what we do to help ensure the kiddos stay healthy (and clean? sanitized?!?!) this school year.  

  • Wash hands before he leaves for school 
  • Wash hands when he walks in the door from school
  • Wipe out the inside of luchboxes regularly (and toss them in the wash if possible)
  • Wash bed sheets once a week 
  • Wipe down instruments, sports equipment and school supplies with sanitizer wipes regularly
  • Eat more fruits and vegetables (seriously I’ve found this makes a big difference)
  • Force them to drink more water to stay hydrated (not the easiest battle, but a worthy fight)
  • As often as I can remember, I take the opportunity to wipe down those other germ “hot spots”  in home that you might not normally think of: door handles, banisters, bed rails,  the whole entire bathroom (just saying, if there were a Clorox Hose, I’d use it here?), toys, remotes, video games, etc.  

For us fighting the school germs has been a real struggle, but this year my son didn’t get sick immediately when school started.  I’m not sure if I’m winning the battle or just becoming the crazy hand sanitizer lady, but I’m definitely over here trying to keep us all healthy! 

What do you do to help your children from getting sick? Leave me a comment and let me know your tips!