Keeping Your Kids Healthy
Keeping your kids healthy at daycare can be hard even frustrating at times. It seems like every time you drop them off some other child has a runny nose, is sneezing in their hands or passing along germ infested, half eaten food to another kid.
So what are some ways to keep your kids healthy at daycare?
- Good hand washing! Yep it is the first line of defense against spreading germs. Literally it has shown to be a lifesaver. Even hand-sanitizer has been shown effective. Miss Aimee’s makes this a foundation, so teach children good hand washing at home and it will become their habit. We are crazy about hand hygiene.
- Feed them well. Did you know that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and iron rich food boosts the immune system? A healthy diet means healthy kids so provide them with fresh fruits and veggies. The younger you start them on a healthy diet, the easier it is to maintain and the healthier they are.
- Vaccinate your kids! While there has been a lot of talk about vaccines causing autism not one clinical study was able to prove that. The one that did make this claim was proven false and the physician admitted it was unfounded. If you have questions about vaccines for your child check with your physician or the CDC.
- Ask about daycare standards. States set regulations and laws for licensing. Ask daycare providers what they are. We are more then happy to tell you. You also can check with your state. Ours for South Carolina is DHEC. You can also ask Aimee our director/owner what standards staff has to meet.
- Make sure your kids get good rest. Did you know that preschoolers need between 10-12 hours of sleep each night? If your toddler is tired then so is their immune system. If your having a hard time getting your child this much sleep; shoot for a 7:30 bedtime. One-way to achieve this is to have a routine like dinner, bath, snuggle time, then bed.
- Teach kids to share smart. Teach children to share toys not food or hairbrushes. Passing food back and forth only spreads germs. Also it can pass undetected allergens like peanuts. Hair products can pass along lice (especially since lice really like clean hair).
- Get them the Flu shot. I know this is covered under vaccines but did you know that every year thousands of people get the flu and most of those cases could have been prevented by a simple flu shot. Healthy kids over the age of two don’t even need a shot, they can have the flu mist. 2013-2014 flu season is going to be an active one.
So stay healthy. Everyone will be much happier, miss less work and school, and the time that you have to spend with your children will be much more FUN!