Tips for Happy, Healthy Kids This Winter Season

I love everything about this time of year, except cold & flu illnesses that seem to come with it. Cooler temperatures have people running the heater (which dries out nasal passages) and more people are indoors more packed in with other people, all leading to increased opportunities for getting sick! In August, I shared tips for a healthy, happy school year. So, I thought it would be a good time to share some tips for a healthy, happy winter season as well! After all of our medical stuff this fall (especially Baby Brother’s 1st hospital visit), I’m hoping to do everything I can to help keep everyone healthy this winter!

1. Wash hands!!!!!! This is the 1st thing Big Brother needs to do after com­ing in the house! That can cer­tainly help with germ spread around the house!
2. Talk about germs! Since we can’t see “germs”, it can be a hard thing for kids to under­stand. But, talk­ing to them about it is cer­tainly a good place to start! Dis­cuss the impor­tance of wash­ing hands, cough­ing into their arms (instead of hands), not shar­ing food & drinks with oth­ers, etc.
3. Sleep. Most experts rec­om­mend 10–12 hours of sleep for ele­men­tary aged kids! Not get­ting enough sleep can impact their school per­for­mance as well as their immune sys­tem and health.
4. Sunshine & Exercise. This one might be hard to come by depending on where you live, but getting a little bit of sunshine and time outdoors can really be good for you! Even if the weather keeps you from going outside, getting moving inside can be helpful.
5. Lots of fruits & veggies! We live in a state that produces a lot of citrus, so it’s great for loading up on extra vitamin C during the winter.
6. In addi­tion to eat­ing a healthy & bal­anced diet, adding a daily mul­ti­vi­t­a­min (like L’il Crit­ters gummy vit­a­mins) might cer­tainly be helpful.
7. Keep them home from school if they are run­ning a fever, have vom­ited recently or are hav­ing diar­rhea! While a per­fect atten­dance award is super fun, it’s not fun when it’s at the expense of infect­ing other stu­dents or risk­ing your own child get­ting worse by picking up other germs!
8. Get vaccinated. Consider getting the family vaccinated against the flu and making sure other childhood vaccines & adult boosters are up-to-date. Unfortunately where we live, there have been some recent pertussis (whooping cough) outbreaks. So, definitely staying on top of vaccines for respiratory illnesses are important this time of year especially!
9. Don’t over-schedule! There is SO much going on this time of year. Try not to overbook yourself, the kids, or the family as a whole. When everyone is stressed & frazzled, it seems the likelihood for getting sick increases.
10. Find ways to de-stress as a fam­ily. In addition to not over-scheduling, find ways to de-stress and decom­press as a family– have a family game night, read books in front of the fire or Christmas tree, have a relaxing & fun family movie night, etc. The more you can limit stress & have fun times together, the better! 🙂

What are YOUR tips for a healthy, happy winter season?

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Dis­clo­sure: Com­pen­sa­tion was pro­vided by Church & Dwight via Glam Media. The opin­ions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indica­tive of the opin­ions or posi­tions of Church & Dwight.