5 easy steps to make your child germ free

Giving your child an early grounding in personal hygiene can keep them healthy and happy even when others around them are not.

School time is exciting for your child, but you are reduced to a bundle of nerves as you worry about them picking up infections at school. Your child will fall ill at some point, but you can prevent the possibility of them falling ill often. Check out these 5 ways to keep your child free of illness-causing germs:

1 Check their clothes and skin for dirt. Children romp about in the grass and dirt, and they can get really dirty by the time play hour is over. You cannot stop them from enjoying their childhood, but you can certainly check their skin, hair and clothes for dirt. Every morning, give toddlers a bath with an antibacterial body wash, and give their hair a wash with water infused with Dettol antibacterial liquid. Older children can use a loofah and bathe in Dettol antibacterial body washing soap.

2 Wash their clothes separately. Children’s clothes must be washed in a separate load. Just before you start the washing machine, add a measure of Dettol antibacterial liquid to the load. The liquid eliminates up to 99.9% germs from the clothes, so they emerge germ-free from the wash. Besides, it does not affect the cloth fibres in any way, while imparting a fresh scent.

3 Teach them good hand hygiene. The hands are often the biggest culprits in spreading cold and flu germs from one surface to the next. Your child might touch a surface that is rife with infectious germs, or forget to wash their hands after visiting the restroom. The germs on their hands can enter their bodies in no time. Teach your child how to wash their hands using Dettol antibacterial hand soap. They must wash their hands for a full minute to ensure complete germ removal. Meanwhile, they should be encouraged to use hand sanitizer to clean their hands when they are away from soap and water.

4 Encourage the use of tissues and personal kerchiefs. Children might inadvertently touch another child’s used tissue, and end up getting cold germs on their hands. They should be taught to immediately use hand sanitizer to clean their hands when this happens. Meanwhile, teach your child how to use tissues when they wish to cough or sneeze, and to dispose of the tissues safely. Pack a few tissues in their school bag so that they don’t run short at school. Also tell them never to share their kerchief with a classmate, and to never use theirs.

5 Feed them a nutritious diet to build immunity. A great way to keep your child healthy is to feed them with seasonal fruit and vegetables. If they are picky eaters, you can make yummy fruit and veggie smoothies. Fruit and vegetables impart essential nutrients, fibre and antioxidants, to build your child’s immunity and make them resistant to disease.