Help Your Kids Stay Healthy and Safe While Traveling This Summer

May 2, 2022

Kids and colds seem to be fast friends. Whether it is cold and flu season; back-to-school season, spring, or well, any time of the year, it seems our children can bring home any germ at any time. And while it seems they have been spared the worst effects of COVID, there is still evidence that they can catch it – and then spread it to friends and family.

For these reasons, it is important to take some steps to keep your kids safe and healthy as you travel this summer.

Of course, you can’t keep your child away from every germ. It is just not possible. They will touch things, rub against other things, jump in yet more things, and end it all by placing their hands on their faces or – worse yet – in their mouths.

There are steps you can take to reduce exposure to viruses as you visit entertainment sites this summer.

  1. Make handwashing part of the meal plan. Make a ritual of handwashing every time you are eating throughout the day. Stopping for a quick snack? Let’s wash our hands! Lunchtime! Clean hands time! Afternoon snack? More like afternoon splash … in the sink as we wash our hands. This easy rule accepts that kids will get dirty, but makes their hands the cleanest at the time they are most likely to touch their nose and face.
  2. Carry and use hand sanitizer. Having hand sanitizer available all the time allows you to take advantage of transitions and breaks. Heading from one part of the museum to another? Have a squirt of hand sanitizer. Just used a tissue? A dab of sanitizer will make sure to reduce the spread of germs.
  3. Better yet: let kids carry hand sanitizer. Children love to be in charge of official supplies. So why not get a pocket-size hand sanitizer bottle and clip it on their belt or put it in their pocket? Now they always have it available, and they are more likely to use it even when you are not looking. After all, they love to play grown-up, and what is more grown-up than protecting against germs?
  4. Deputize your kids to be handwashing police. It’s true that our children like to take on new responsibilities, and they especially like to tell us what to do. This is why they make great handwashing deputies. Putting them in charge of reminders – and then joyfully complying when they remind you, reinforces good habits. It also allows you to model cheerful compliance – something they need to see more of!

Hopefully these steps will help your family stay safe and healthy and get the most out of this and every season!

Photo by Yaroslav Danylchenko