If you have a toddler, you’re probably used to dealing with lots of runny noses, random high temperatures, and rashes. Children’s immune systems are strong, but when they start to spend more time outside and less time at home, they’re instantly exposed to a ton of germs and bacteria that their bodies simply haven’t encountered yet. That’s why one of the most frightening things for new parents to face is the prospect of taking a kid to child care only to have wake up the next morning with a bout of pink eye. However, even though the best play care in cedar park tx might be swimming with germs, there are ways that parents can arm their kids against the worst. There’s no need to feel helpless or freak out. If you’re sending your kid to daycare for the first time, it’s important to know what to expect in terms of germ circulation and defense tactics. Here are a few things to keep in mind before your child starts their first day of childcare.
It’s Impossible to Protect Against Everything
As a parent, all you want to do is protect your child from the bad things in life. Whether that means the school bully, an unpleasant teacher, or a nasty cold, you just don’t want anything getting in the way of your child having the best life they can possibly have. However, realistically, your child isn’t going to be able to go out into the world, even the fairly insular world of daycare, and come back totally unscathed. One of the best things you can do as a parent, both to protect your own sanity and allow your kid to experience their surroundings, is let go of the idea that you have control over the situation. Daycare is a breeding ground for germs, and all you can really do to protect against that is feed your kid a healthy, balanced diet, keep up with multivitamins, and encourage hand washing and sanitizing whenever possible. Apart from that, it’s largely out of your hands. While it’s partly the job of the daycare facility to make sure the environment is free of illness, it’s simply not possible to create a completely sterile public atmosphere where kids are involved. Kids are extremely tactile: They want to touch, smell, and taste everything. While you can do your best to encourage them not to do this in public, it’s going to be a hard habit to break them of for at least a few years.
A Great Immune System Starts at Home
When it comes to protecting your kids at home, fortunately there are things you can do. You can start by introducing vitamins into the routine early. If your kid is hesitant, try and make it fun by buying gummy vitamins (just make sure they don’t take too many at once!) You can also create a diet of vitamin-rich foods that are great for building up a kid’s immune system. The problem is, while supplements and spices like turmeric and ginger are amazing for your immune system, they’re a bit too spicy for kids to handle. Instead of opting for supplements, try citrus-heavy drinks like fresh-squeezed orange juice or lemonade. Just make sure the sugar content isn’t insanely high.
Kids Need to Be Exposed to Viruses
Of course you want to protect your child (not to mention yourself) from the horrors of viruses, infections, and rashes. But the truth is, kids are vaccinated early against the really terrible stuff, and the rest is simply expected to happen. Kids get sick because they need to. It’s how their immune systems actually form. You can’t expect your body to know what to do with a common cold or ear infection if it’s never experienced that problem before. Putting your kid in daycare is a way of putting them out into the world. Just as they’ll be exposed to new friends and experiences, you can bet they’ll also be exposed to all the germs and bacteria, both good and bad, that the world has to offer.
Parents Should Be Open About Infections
One easy way to protect your kid from coming home sick every day is to keep in touch with other parents and keep track of what’s going around. While some parents might not want to disclose that their kids came to school sick, it definitely happens, and it’s helpful to know as much as you can before sending your kid out for the day. For instance, if there’s a rash of chickenpox going around, assume that your kid is going to be exposed sooner rather than later, and prepare yourself with everything you need to weather the storm.
