3 Tips to Avoid School Germs & Other Germs All Summer
School’s out for summer! While this is always an exciting time for you and your kids, be sure not to let all your family’s hard-earned hygiene habits go out the window. Because children spend a lot of time at school, conversations about young people tend to revolve around good hygiene habits to avoid school germs and other germs all summer long. Although these conversations tend to focus primarily on school germs, other germs and illnesses can quickly spread between kids outside of school. This is especially true if your family is vacationing in a busy city, eating in a crowded restaurant, or visiting theme parks.
Consider water parks. Surprisingly for some, when we talk about the worst offenders for spreading germs during the summer, some areas that require extra planning are pools and water parks. When we think of fun in the sun, we often think immediately of splashing around in water. But there are a few things to know about popular attractions that might make you plan cleanliness at a water park or public pool.
While it’s true that chlorine in pool water normally would be enough to kill many bacteria, overcrowding may yield the opposite result. For example, consider crowded water parks and pools. The added sweat, sunscreen, and other substances introduced by hundreds or thousands of bodies dilute those cleaning chemicals, decreasing their bacteria-fighting capacities.
To get ahead of these possibilities, you can always plan. Here are our top 3 tips when you have a child out of school.
1. Talk about the importance of healthy habits and good hygiene to Avoid School Germs & Other Germs
Whether they pick up germs in school or outside of school, children and parents should be encouraged to practice healthy habits and good hygiene anywhere and everywhere. Make sure your child understands that many germs can cause illness.
2. Keep Up Important Routines and Model Them to Avoid School Germs & Other Germs
Getting into the rhythm of routine all year long is crucial. It is equally important to model them for your child, especially regarding hand hygiene and staying clean. Experts explain that structure and routine are critical to keeping kids thinking and moving while school’s out.
3. Bring Hand Sanitizer Along as a Backup During Outings to Avoid School Germs & Other Germs
Despite your best efforts, know that crowded environments will likely boost your chances of coming into contact with sick kids and adults. Sometimes when you’re out on a trip or excursion, it may not be practical to expect that you’ll make it to a handwashing station often enough to keep your hands clean. During these times, it’s reasonable to assume that people may still be learning how to wash their hands regularly as well.
Proactively Plan this Summer
Hopefully, the next few months will bring plenty of fun outdoor activities and maybe even a few trips. Fun in the sun helps break up our day-to-day routines, especially with school-age children. Still, remember to maintain certain essential hygiene considerations.
After your family plays in the water or at theme parks, be sure they wash their hands frequently. At the very least, they can use hand sanitizer when handwashing isn’t an option.
Furthermore, if you want your kids to adopt those routines fully, ensure that you’re modeling them proper behaviors and habits.
By keeping these three tips in mind, you can better fend off illnesses from germs found at school and in other areas.
