How to Stop Getting Sick at School (Ep. 174)

Okay, school and illness.

Think about what happens when school starts.

You take 20 or 30 kids from different families.

You put them together inside for six or seven hours a day.

They share air and pencils and germs.

And younger kids are really, really good at sharing germs.

Am I right? So how do we mitigate this exposure? First, I know this is gonna sound boring, but hear me out.

Unlike a lot of things that are marketed to you for immune health, handwashing is the best answer.

It works better than anything.

Your hands are the most effective germ delivery vehicles.

They touch a contaminated surface, and then you rub your eyes, pick your nose, eat a cracker, put your fingers in your mouth, whatever.

That's how germs that were outside your body get to the places inside your body where they can make you sick.

And we touch our faces a lot.

Adults touch their faces at least 20 times an hour on average.

Now, imagine a four-year-old.

Trust me, it's more times.

I know that you can't teach your preschooler how not to touch their face, and you can't go to school with them and wash their hands, but here's a secret.

We need to train our kids, literally train them like we teach a dog a trick.

We have to teach them to wash their hands using three handwashing triggers.

Those are sure to reduce the number of germs that reach their body.

So the three times are after the bathroom, before eating, and in your kitchen.

If your kids wash their hands at those times consistently, they will reduce their germ exposure by a lot.

So give them specific triggers.

Kids love rules, and if you have them wash their hands every single time you sit down for a meal together at home, if you just ask them, "Hey, don't sit down.

Did you wash your hands?" They are going to think that they have to do it at school and at every time they eat also.