Let’s be real. Kids are ‘ew’. I mean, my toddler would rather eat the boogers she picks from her nose than the hundreds of dollars of food I buy each month.

Kids are ew!

But aside from them being ew themselves, they are exposed to ew constantly.

I was provided information from pediatric doctor Dr. Nina Shapiro and microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba, on how germs exist beyond what meets the eye and how to get kids back to being kids again when germs cause those Sick just got real.™ moments.

Germs at play

The sun’s ultraviolet light rays kill bacteria, so playground equipment in the shade will have more bacteria. (Good to know for us that live in Arizona because we prefer shaded playground equipment! It doesn’t melt your skin as much when you touch it!)

Sandboxes are a germ culprit, particularly if they remain uncovered overnight, which allows bacteria to enter. (Or if you have wild cats in the neighborhood. Do I need to say more?)

Any microorganisms on kids’ hands will spread to monkey bars, slides, teeter totters, swings and other touched surfaces where other children can then pick them up when playing.

Germ class is in session

Half of students don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom (no doubt my kid is one of them!) ­ – and of those who do many don’t even use soap (or in my kids’ case, cold water!)

Less than one-third of teachers said they regularly disinfect germ-laden objects in the classroom.

Desks often have more bacteria than a toilet seat and if eating happens in class, the number of germs multiplies.

Up to 2.7 million bacterial cells per square inch live on common school surfaces such as water fountains, desks, computer keyboards, bus seats and cafeteria trays.

Shared technology in classrooms introduces new high-touch surfaces for spreading germs – the computer mouse, keyboard and tablet surfaces have some of the highest germ counts.

Each keyboard key contains up to 1.3 million germs—that’s more than 135 million germs on the entire keyboard, and a standard iPad screen has up to 192 million bacteria!

“Ew” is in the air

In addition to school and the playground, the supermarket is a festival of “ew”, with shopping carts, credit card machines and reusable grocery bags acting as the leading germ carriers.

Some germs can live on dry surfaces, such as toys, for several hours.

Colds and other respiratory infections are spread by the hands and touching the nose or eyes, while 81 percent of people with the flu virus spread it through the air when they cough.

Most kids touch up to 20 objects per minute and touch their face 50 times per hour – leading to wide germ spreading.

Say goodbye to perfect attendance

More than 38 million school days are missed by U.S. children each year due to the flu.

Parents miss about 126 million workdays annually caring for a sick child, which equates to 40 billion lost dollars.

Missing work to stay home with their sick kids and worrying about sickness outbreaks going around the classroom were the top concerns parents have when their child is sick at school.

Travel

While airplanes were not mentioned above, let me tell you – airplanes and airports are ew central too!

If you are traveling with the kids – beware! After our last trip in January to Washington, Blake ended up with strep throat! Ew!

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. All thoughts and reviews are my own.

Get Better Basket

In addition to agreeing that our kids are ‘ew’; I am sure we can agree that there isn’t much worse than the ids being sick.

We feel horrible that the kids are sick and there isnt anything we can do. They’re miserable, we’re miserable. The best we can do is try to make them comfortable.

We gathered some ideas for a get better basket:

• Tissues
• Movies
• Coloring books
• Crayons
• Activity books
• Pens and pencils
• Stickers
• Children’s Advil®
• Children’s Robitussin®
• Children’s Dimetapp®

Information about Pfizer Pediatric products:

The pediatric brands of Pfizer Consumer Healthcare are there with three solutions – Children’s Advil®, Children’s Robitussin® and Children’s Dimetapp® – to tackle the “ew”iest of symptoms.

Ease those aches and pains, while reducing a child’s fever fast with Children’s Advil®, a great solution for kids as young as 2 and up to 11. Children’s Advil® comes in several great-tasting flavors, including: Sugar-free Dye-free Berry, Bubble Gum, Grape, Blue Raspberry, Fruit and Dye-Free White Grape flavors.

There’s also Infants’ Advil® White Grape, which provides unsurpassed fever relief (among OTC pain relievers) with a syringe for easy dosing for children 6-23 months.

For your child’s cough, trust Children’s Robitussin® Extended-Release 12 Hour Cough Relief to control and relieve symptoms all-day or all- night. Available in grape or orange flavor, for children ages 4 and up. Please note that while most Children’s Robitussin® products can be used starting at age 4, some are only for children age 6 and up.

Children’s Dimetapp® Multi-Symptom Cold Relief Dye-Free eases your child’s stuffy and runny nose, while quieting a bothersome cough. All in a great-tasting grape flavor that’s dye-free, for children 6 and up.

*It is important to remember to always read and keep the cartons for complete warnings and dosing information on Pfizer Pediatric products and to use as directed.

 

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My Kid is Not Your Kid
Parenting: The Most Challenging, but Most Rewarding Job