We spend a lot of time teaching our children to share. However, there are many items they shouldn’t share, such as personal care items. It’s important to make sure small children understand the difference and know that it’s okay (in fact, preferred) that they do not share some things.
Something else we don’t want to share is germs. Unfortunately, that can be a little tough when the weather keeps everyone inside, the doors and windows are closed, and a family member is sick.
My youngest has been very sick. We’re trying to keep the other kids from catching it and yes, we’re trying to keep Mommy and Daddy from getting sick too, so we can work and take care of our sick little angel.
Prevent the spread of germs and avoid “sharing” sickness:
Remember, any family member who is sick should have his or her own hand towel. Make sure no one is sharing a bathroom cup. Paper cups and paper towels may be on your list of things to stop using, for environmentally friendly reasons, but you may want to reconsider both temporarily when someone is sick. The germs can go right in the trash instead of multiplying in a damp towel or on a cup.
Toothbrushes should also be kept separate. If you use a toothbrush holder where all the brushes are close together, move the one that belongs to a sick family member away from the others. Perhaps put it in a cup or jar. Clean and disinfect the toothbrush holder and rinse the remaining toothbrushes under hot water for several seconds. When the person who is ill gets better, replace his or her toothbrush with a new one and dispose of the other one.
Disinfect surfaces throughout the house, remembering to saturate the area and let the solution sit for several seconds or minutes, depending on the product. A quick spray in the general direction of an item or a quick wipe doesn’t do much to kill germs, as Michele Cheplic found out and told us, so be sure to read the directions. For some products, the surface actually needs to be wet for several minutes in order to obtain optimum results.