Table of contents:
- Teaching healthy habits to prevent children from catching the flu
- Accustomed to washing and maintaining hand hygiene
- Cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing
- Avoid handling or rubbing your eyes
- Accustomed to not using cutlery at the same time
It is not easy to always protect children from disease. Especially if they are in a crowd every day such as at school or a playground. He is susceptible to infectious diseases, one of which is the flu. Therefore, you need to instill some healthy habits in order to prevent children from catching the flu. Not only for the present, healthy habits are likely to continue until they grow up.
Teaching healthy habits to prevent children from catching the flu
As parents, you need to teach children habits to keep them away from the flu virus. Although a habit does not provide direct benefits, teaching children about it is definitely beneficial for health in the future.
Here are some habits that can prevent children from catching colds or flu:
Accustomed to washing and maintaining hand hygiene
Washing hands is an effective way to prevent various diseases that commonly attack children, especially those at school age.
Research has shown that washing hands properly and regularly can reduce the risk of contracting the disease among school-age children.
You can teach hand washing habits such as teaching to brush your teeth in the morning and at night as a measure to prevent children from catching the flu. Start teaching hand washing habits when:
- Arrive at school or child care
- Before eating
- Finish from the toilet
- After playing with friends
- Going home, whether it's after school or playing outside
The key is consistency. You should always encourage them to wash their hands at all times. If you get used to it, your child will do this habit on his own, maybe even start reminding you.
But don't forget to teach how to wash your hands properly and correctly so that your child is not prone to colds, colds, or other infections. Teach them to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
Cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing
Cold and flu viruses can spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes. It is important to teach children to get used to covering their mouth and nose when they have the flu as a measure to prevent other children from contracting the disease.
But keep in mind, don't teach children to cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing with their hands. Prevent the spread of flu by covering sneeze with a tissue or the inside of your elbow.
Avoid handling or rubbing your eyes
The way to prevent children from catching the next flu is to get used to not directly holding their eyes. The flu virus can spread by hand.
Exposure to viruses from objects or contact with a sick child can occur without the child knowing it. Then if the child holds the eye, for example because of itching, the virus can enter the body.
Accustomed to not using cutlery at the same time
Naturally, children like to share with their peers, including when eating together. However, teach and supervise children not to use utensils at the same time, especially when you have another child with the flu.
Viruses and bacteria can easily be spread through saliva. Therefore, by cultivating the habit of always using your own cutlery, you can prevent your child from catching the flu.
When teaching children healthy and clean habits, you need to be an example and not just give theory. Teaching children to avoid friends who have the flu may be a less effective way.
For this reason, instead of just explaining that the flu can be transmitted from friends, it is better to instill the habit directly and be a good example so that children become accustomed to doing it.
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