Tips & Tricks for Keeping Germs Away From Kids
Kids are germ magnets! They pick up and touch everything they can get their hands on and bring those germs back to the rest of the family. The more time you spend out of the house (school, shopping, travel, etc.) means more chances germs have to get in. Everyday germs that you and I pay no mind to can be tough on kids and their underdeveloped immune systems. Parents wanting to do their best to protect their kids from germs should teach children to wash their hands multiple times a day, especially after handling toys and before handling food. Here are some tips to keep your kids protected from germs.
1. Carry wipes with you
Germs are lurking all around us and it helps to be prepared by carrying anti-bacterial wipes with us when we’re out and about. Use them to wipe down benches, shopping carts, door handles, etc. so that everything can be sanitized before it gets touched. Then you don’t have to worry about passing on the germs from your hands to your baby.
2. Wash your hands
Washing your hands is the number one thing that parents and kids can do to protect themselves from germs. However, many children “forget” to wash their hands when parents aren’t keeping a close eye on them. That’s why it’s so important to teach your children about germs and keeping clean by washing your hands. Make it a habit by starting a routine where kids wash their hands as soon as they come home from school or day care and also before they eat dinner.
3. Sterilize baby gear
One way to keep the items in your home clean and safe for baby to use is to sterilize them with boiling water or using a sterilizing solution. Do this for baby toys, teethers, pacifiers, milk bottles, etc., even when they’re brand new. If you have old baby gear from your older children that has been passed down to baby, always sterilize them first before giving them to baby.
4. Be careful with pets
It’s recommended to keep pets away from baby during the first few months. Don’t let your pets lick baby’s face or hands as pets’ mouths are full of germs. Always vaccinate your pets and keep baby away from the cat’s litterbox. Once baby is old enough to pet your animal, wash her hands right away.
5. Use a clean play mat
As a mom you have to take baby with you everywhere you go, whether it’s to the park or mommy and me yoga. You always want to keep a clean play environment for baby. Use a play mat that features a Velcro strap that keeps the blanket neatly folded in your diaper bag until you’re ready to pull it out. That way the soft side your baby plays on will always be separate from the ground.
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Written by Stephanie Parker from Sleepingbaby.com, inventors of the Zipadee-Zip
The motto for Sleeping Baby, makers of the Zipadee-Zip, is: "Inspiring Dreams One Night at A time," and that, in a nutshell, is how it all started…with one little dream that has since become the Parker family's reality. When Brett and Stephanie Parker's daughter, Charlotte, was born, the feeling that welled up inside of them was indescribable; they never realized until first looking into those baby blues of hers that they were even capable of that kind of love.
When it was time to transition baby from swaddling, the Parkers tried every sleep sack on the market and every swaddle weaning trick they could find for nearly two weeks and nothing worked to get baby Charlotte to fall and stay asleep.
Stephanie became determined to restore sleep and sanity to their household and set out to find a solution that would soothe Charlotte's startle reflex and provide her the cozy womb-like environment she loved so much but still give her the freedom to roll over and wiggle around in her crib safely. Out of sheer desperation and exhaustion, the Zipadee-Zip was born. The first Zipadee-Zip(R) Stephanie put together on her little sewing machine worked like magic!
To date tens of thousands of Zipadee-Zips have been sold and all from word-of-mouth marketing. It is so rewarding for the Parkers to see other parents and babies getting the sleep they both need and deserve!
For more information, visit sleepingbaby.com.
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