5 Ways to Protect Your Kids Against Germs at School

Remind your children of the importance of having a good hand-washing technique throughout the day by teaching them a hand-washing song or making up a game to help reinforce the habit. Safeguard with GermShield+ can help, too. It's the only antibacterial soap that protects against 3 of the 4 germ types for up to 12 hours after hand washing.

Sneezing and mucus are two of the ways germs travel fastest. Show your children how to use tissues, and teach them the importance of throwing the tissues away after use. Washing their hands after sneezing or blowing their nose can also help prevent the spread of germs.

According to the World Hygiene Council, the use of hand sanitizer has been shown to reduce school absenteeism by 49% by lowering the chance of germs being spread at school. Put a small bottle of Safeguard Hand Sanitizer in your children's school bag with a note reminding them when to use it. Ideally, they'll wash their hands before eating lunch or after playtime. If washing their hands isn't an option, hand sanitizer is a good backup.

In lots of instances, sharing is thought to be a good habit to teach your children. Sharing food, however, is not a good habit for your children to learn because it makes it easy for germs to travel from one person to another. Teach your children nice ways to say "no" to sharing food to help avoid the spread of germs.

Lunch boxes often leave behind bits of food, which can lead to lingering germs, especially bacteria and fungi. If your child takes a lunch box to school, be sure to wash it in soapy water every few days in soapy water before drying it thoroughly to prevent harmful germs from growing.