Cutting Down on Colds at School

Why Does My Child Get So Many Colds?

If you're a working mother with a baby in daycare, you may feel the sting of comments from stay-at-home friends, but never fear. Their child will experience the same runny noses and colds, although perhaps not until Kindergarten. According to White Oak Pediatrics, "Most children in preschool have one cold per month, especially during the winter months. In regards to the prevention of colds, we advocate frequent hand washing, avoiding cigarette smoke and not letting an infant fall asleep with the bottle."

Babies get sick more than we do for two simple reasons. First, hundreds of different viruses are behind what we think of as the "common cold." We develop immunities to them one at a time. So, your child is simply going about the process of inoculating himself against the many viruses out there. Second, your baby is likely touching, handling, even licking lots of items at school, play dates and even at the park. Then, he touches his nose, his eyes, or puts a finger in his mouths, and voila - germs have a place to thrive.

It's an old wives tale that babies "catch a cold" from being cold. We all get sick more during winter months because indoor heating (especially gas heat) dries air out, and thus our nasal passages and throats. Dry, cracking tissue is a perfect place for viruses to thrive. Plus, during cold weather, we are typically inside, in closer contact with those around us. That makes it easier to spread germs - person to person.

So how do you keep baby as well as you can? Here are three ways to fight back.

Wash Hands

Take your mother's advice as well as the advice of White Oak Pediatrics in Raleigh. Good old-fashioned hand washing is the best way to keep your child from catching whatever's going around. If your baby is tiny and in school, wet wipes will work too. Antibacterial or not, both will wash away the oils that contain germs. Make a habit of hand washing - before and after school, before and after a play date, after a trip to the mall, even after a trip to the park. All are places where your little ones hands come into contact with new germs. At school, make sure your child's teacher or care provider is meticulous about hand washing. Each child should be required to wash hands when he comes into the classroom. Care providers should be meticulous about washing hands after helping a child with a runny nose, changing diapers, etc.

Choose a small school that has a reasonable policy on illness.

Though it's hard to remember it when you get an emergency call at work, you'll be grateful for a school that has a stringent policy on keeping sick kids at home. For the protection of other children present, children with fevers, signs of an upper respiratory infection, vomiting, eye infection or rash should be required to leave school when the symptoms arise. You may also want to consider a smaller school. A smaller school generally means that your child is exposed to fewer other children, and fewer overall germs.

Practice good well-child care.

Make sure to take your child to all of the recommended checkups and keep her vaccinations up to date. In addition, feeding your child a healthy, balanced diet, and making sure that she is getting enough rest and exercise will keep her as healthy as possible. According to White Oak Pediatrics, avoiding exposure to cigarette smoke and not letting an infant fall asleep with a bottle are essential in keeping little ones healthy.