How to Keep Kids Healthy During Cold and Flu Season

Everyone gets sick. It is a fact of life, basically. That doesn't mean that you can't try to prevent it from happening as much as possible. I have four kids, one of which is in preschool. Preschool and kindergarten kids usually get sick more often because of the new environment that they are in with other kids. Kids do not watch what they are doing in terms of spreading germs. Germs pass easily from one child to another but it doesn't have to be that way.

First thing is first. Teach your child about the importance of washing their hands and sneezing and coughing into their sleeve. If they are taught early to sneeze and cough into their sleeve and not into their hands, they can learn to not spread germs. Also, teach your child to not share food or drinks and to not suck or chew on toys or pens. These few simple things help to stop the spread of germs.

Herbal supplements can really help to boost the immune system and that can help to avoid many colds during the fall and winter cold season. Most children don't mind taking the herbal supplements and many of them can just be added into their drinks and they don't even know it.

One herbal supplement that is great to boost the immune system is Airborne and Germ MD. Both are tablets that you put into a glass of water and then drink. This is a concoction of different herbs that help the immune system to be stronger and fight off germs. My kids love the taste of Airborne and ask for it. I usually give it to them about three times a week and any time they are in a crowd of people or if they are acting a little under the weather. If and when they get sick, I give it to them a few times that first and second day and it helps to get rid of the cold much faster.

Another beneficial herbal supplement is echinacea. I get it in liquid form and add the drops to the children's drinks. They are not even aware that it is there. I also have bought echinacea mixed with astragalus. That is double the immune power. Again, the drops go into your child's drink and they don't even taste it. The taste is not bad so they may even like it!

My kids also take a multi vitamin each day as well as Vitamin C each day. I usually give them about 500 mg of Vitamin C on top of what is in their multi vitamin. That gives them a little extra protection as well.

Another immune boosting thing that I do is give my children yogurt and Danimals drinks. Yogurt and Danimals have immune boosting powers. If they have one a day, that gives their bodies just an extra boost of immune fighting power which will help them to fight off any germs they come into contact with.

My youngest son is prone to ear infections so whenever he gets a runny or stuffy nose, we know that an ear infection is to follow. I do not like my kids on antibiotics unless it is absolutely necessary so I am now trying an herbal remedy to prevent the ear infections. I purchased some Willow/Garlic Ear Oil drops and at the first sign of a runny or stuffy nose, I will be using this. Many people have told me that using this will prevent an ear infection the natural way with no antibiotics. The directions on the bottle say to warm the bottle in hot water and drop a few drops of warmed oil into each ear. This will prevent the backup in the ear tubes that causes an ear infection.

Another preventative thing that I do is I use tea tree oil for cuts and wounds. That helps it to heal without any medication. I also use a shampoo called Fairy Tales. It is an herbal shampoo that repels lice and other bugs. If you use this shampoo, lice cannot grab a hold of the hair. If your child gets a case of lice, many of the medication that are used to kill the lice are heavy duty pesticides. That is unhealthy and unsafe, especially in a young child. Not only does this company have all natural shampoos, conditioner, gels, mousses, and hair sprays that repel lice so that you don't have a problem with them, they also have pesticide free medications to rid the lice if you already have them. We use this shampoo a few times a week so that we don't have to deal with the nuisance of those pesky little bugs. Also, adding tea tree oil to your normal shampoo can repel lice as well. We have not had to deal with an outbreak of lice yet and I am sure you can tell, I don't ever want to either.

There are many things that can help your kids to stay healthy, as well as yourself. Prevention is the key and staying healthy the natural way is the best way to prevent any illnesses. While everyone else's kids get sick around us on average about five or more times in a season, my kids usually get sick only once and it goes away very quickly. The average cold can linger up to a week or sometimes longer. My kids usually are only sick for two to three days thanks to all of these tips and herbal supplements. Stay healthy this winter season and stop the spread of germs.