HEALTH + WELLNESS
© Robert Collins / Unsplash
BOOST YOUR CHILD ’ S
BACK-TO-SCHOOL IMMUNITY
LITTLE ONES FLYING THE NEST FOR THE FIRST TIME ; BIG ONES HEADING OFF TO SECONDARY SCHOOL WITH BARELY MORE THAN A GLANCE BACK AT THE GATES ; OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR WILL BE FINDING ITS FEET , WHICH MEANS COUGHS AND COLDS WILL NO DOUBT BE REARING THEIR UGLY HEADS SOON , TOO . ACCORDING TO A RECENT STUDY CARRIED OUT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION , OVER 58 % OF ALL CHILDREN ’ S SCHOOL ABSENCES ARE DUE TO ILLNESS , AND ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES THAT CAN ’ T BE HELPED , THERE ARE A FEW IMMUNITY-BOOSTING STEPS WE CAN ALL TAKE TO HELP KEEP BACK-TO-SCHOOL GERMS AT BAY .
Keep them active
Exercise keeps us healthy and less likely to get poorly , so children should really be active for at least an hour a day . ‘ Active ’ doesn ' t have to mean playing a sport or going to the gym ; it can simply be playing in the park or going for a walk . More is not necessarily better either ; if you have a child who is a serious athlete , exercising several hours a day , make sure that the exercise isn ' t eating into sleep or causing burnout , both of which could cause problems with the immune system .
Prevent tissue issues
Dirty tissues left lying around are one of the main culprits when it comes to spreading common cold germs , so remembering to ‘ blow then throw ’ is important . When you cough , sneeze or blow your nose , the secretions that end up in your tissue are teeming with the virus that ' s making you ill in the first place and they ’ re hardy too , surviving for at least 15 minutes on the fibres . When you leave a tissue for someone else to pick up , you ' re increasing their susceptibility to infection , so teach little people to throw away any used tissues and to wash their hands straight away after blowing .
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