Brighter Days Childcare Center LLC

5 Ways to protect your cold from the flu! 1. Make sure your child gets this season's flu vaccine. While the vaccine cannot completely prevent children from getting the flu (it's about 62% effective, according to the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), it can shorten the illness if they do get sick and keep symptoms milder.... Flu shot myths addressed 2. Practice good cough etiquette and social distancing. Flu germs can spread up to 6 feet through coughs and sneezes, so teach children to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue and to throw away the tissue. Make sure to clean their hands afterward! Also, keep your kids home if they are sick (and discourage sick kids from visiting). This may mean canceling play dates or postponing birthday parties. If possible, ask teachers to keep desks in the classroom separated rather than pushing them together to form larger tables. Keep sick children in their own room, or if the rest of the family is already sick, "quarantine" children without symptoms to keep them away from the flu virus. If flu is hitting your community hard, consider avoiding large crowds (such as going to movies or out to dinner) until things settle down.