Mum's the Word: Top tips for keeping nasty bugs and illnesses at bay

Warning! I am going to get a bit gross here.

This might not be the most entertaining topic but it is that time of year when colds, flus and nasty bugs enter classrooms and homes.

I am a bit phobic of illnesses as it’s no craic so I do try really hard to keep them at bay with my daughter Joan and myself.

And I thought I would share a few of my tricks which seem to work for the most part.

Around September time if we have let it slide a bit during the summer holidays I introduce a kids multivitamin each morning as part of Joan’s breakfast.

I know there is an abundance of information written about whether this is necessary with kids or not.

And broadly speaking, advice given to me was if you think your child has a well balanced diet they don’t need a multivitamin.

Although I feel Joan’s diet is fairly good it could improve so I decide to give her vitamins for a boost in the winter months.

I have always put a hand sanitiser in her school bag since she began in Junior Infants.

I don’t make a big deal about it I just remind her that it is there and ask her to try to use it before eating.

I don’t want her to become paranoid about germs but I do want to make sure she has good hand washing practices that will hopefully come naturally to her.

Another trick I started a few years ago to make sure when she gets home from school that her little paws would get a good scrub was to buy her her own hand wash with fun things on the bottle and something that smells sweet.

We have often gone for the brand Baylis & Harding because they have ‘flavours’ like pink lemonade and candy floss and always have something like a lama or unicorn on the bottle.

This is her’s and no one else can use it.

It works really well to get her to wash her hands more often.

I have to admit I have always been a bit militant about nails.

I have kept her’s short and any bit of dirt or darkness under them needs action!

I would just make sure that they are clean before bed.

Warning I am going to get a bit gross here; the school she attends was nearly a field and a petting farm for the first few years and worms became a problem for some but I felt that by keeping her

nails really short we avoided it.

Another hygiene part of Joan’s routine I try to remember to do each day before she heads out to school is a quick spray of Tea Tree lice defence on her hair and comb it through.

She doesn’t like having her hair up and this seems to have kept nits at bay so far.

There are so many brands and widely available at pharmacies and a few sprays each morning seems to do the trick.

During cold and flu season I would be a big fan of getting Joan to jump into a warm shower each day.

Just a quick scrub down and I think the heat is good.

I then wrap her up well and make sure her hair is always fully dry and her feet are in cosy socks after her shower.

Another important thing for warding of bugs is drinking loads of fluids.

Joan isn’t great at drinking lots, I think most kids are the same.

I bought a water jug with loads of flowers on it from Ikea and the deal is that it is filled at dinner and has to be all gone by bedtime.

Water I know can get boring so I throw in a tiny bit of squash and she generally goes for it.

I appreciate this seems like a lot and much more doable if you have one child and not 3, 4, 5, or more!

But I find doing a few of these things helps to keep those nasty bugs away!