Keeping Your Family Healthy All Winter

Family

Jan 14

Written By

I'm excited to partner with Kiddie Academy because, like me, Kiddie Academy encourages making healthy choices at a young age, from providing nutritious meals to maintaining personal habits every day.Winter time has always been a family-wide favorite around the world. Why? Well, winter time means a long list of things to kids. It means snow in some areas, cozy fires, hot chocolate, Christmas break, presents, and you even get to see family members who come home for the holidays.What's not to love!?Well, I can think of one thing. What is one thing that always manages to sneak up behind you during the winter time? It doesn't matter how hard you hide; it still finds you some way or another.

Winter colds.

I didn't realize just how much something as simple as a winter cold could devastate an entire family until I became a mom. It starts as a little germ. Typically, kids find their germy little friend at school. They probably got him off of some snot-nosed kid on the bus, by playing with a car in their preschool class, or rubbing up on the gym mats during P.E. It doesn't matter how they meet Mr. Germ, the fact is it's inevitable.We all know how it goes after that. One kid catches a cold, and then they come home to "share" it with the rest of the family. When you have a big family like ours, it's complete chaos!One of my boys will catch it first, and it doesn't matter how much I try and bribe keep them in their room, they find their way to their siblings and then it spreads!Then we as parents always end up going down! We're the ones that rub their little noses, rock them to sleep, rub their backs, make them soup, and help them get through the yucky days. A sick parent is never fun. We do the best we can to rest, but it's all just a big joke. Instead, we attempt to sleep and then realize little Jimmy is making water balloons in the bathroom and Johnny is making a peanut butter and ketchup sandwich in the kitchen.The best you can hope for is that mom and dad catch a cold at different times. Everything hits the fan when mom and dad both get sick at the same time.If the kids realize you're both down, it's only a matter of time until they gang up on you and take over the house. They know this is their time to do what they want and they live it up! The best moment is when they take a break from their anarchy to bring you a cup of water or make you something yummy, so you feel better. Only to be resumed by an epic battle of pillow fights in their bedroom.So, what do you do?

Is there any way to avoid the winter cold or should we all give in and let it happen?

Winter time is one of the biggest times of the year that kids get sick. Those germs will be all over your children's school no matter what you do. However, one thing you can do is help boost your and your children's immune systems so they can fight those bad boys off.

How To Stay Healthy During The Winter Season

Here are some of our family's go-to tips to stay healthy during the winter. We have been following these for years, and it's made a huge impact on how often our kids get sick!

Stay Hydrated

Make sure you keep your family hydrated. You can do whatever you need to do to get your kids to drink water. Make it a race to see who can drink all eight cups by the end of the day. Or add a few pieces of fruit to sweeten it up. It will help get all the toxins out of your kid's bodies!

Wash Your Hands

Kids are constantly touching germ-ridden things all day long. Get them into the habit of washing their hands frequently throughout the day, especially before they eat a meal! Help your family keep as many germs out of their body as possible!

Add Healthy Spices To Your Food

This is one of my favorite ways to keep my family healthy! We love to add healthy spices to our food to boost their immune systems. A few things we like to add include turmeric, garlic, and chili powder. All three of these are great for your immune system, and they taste great in just about anything!

No Sharing

You spend countless days teaching your kids to share, but during the winter times...just say no! This is how 99.99999% of all bugs have been passed around our house! Make sure to watch your kids to prevent them from sharing food, cups, or water bottles. You can find them special little cups of their own, write their names on their cups, or whatever you have to do.

Stock Up

The time will come eventually when one of your family members gets sick. The best thing you can do is to be prepared. Stock up on all of the things you may need. I like to have cough drops, fever medicine, lemon juice for their tea (warm water and lemon), wipes for their nose, and tissues. If you're doing all of the things on this list, chances are their cold will be quick, but it's always important to be prepared for a middle of the night sick kiddo.

Golden Milk

Nothing can beat a nice warm glass of milk when you're having a hard time falling asleep as a child. Our family takes this up a notch by making our kids golden milk when they don't feel good. It's a yummy mixture of warm almond milk, turmeric, peppercorns, and ghee. My kids love it, and it's full of antioxidants to help your kids feel better!

Cut Down On Sugar

People forget how important gut health is to the rest of the body. If you or your children's guts aren't doing well, they won't be able to fight off illnesses and germs around them. Cut down on the sugary foods and fill up on healthier foods this season.

Teach Your Children To Listen To Their Body

As adults, we know how to listen to our bodies and do what it needs. This season, take time to help your children learn how to as well. If they're feeling sleepy during the day, remind them it's okay to rest a bit. Help them listen to the little things their body is telling them. It may be trying to warn them it's coming down with a bug and needs a little extra TLC.I'm so excited to be partnering with Kiddie Academy today and sharing all of our go-to healthy advice with all of you! Your family's health is important to them as well! To show you just how important it is, they are offering a giveaway for a Winter Wellness Survival Kit! I don't know about all of you, but I know I need one of these this winter! It has everything you need this season!The Survival Kit contains a super soft blanket, natural saline wipes for stuffy noses, tea sampler, honey, hand sanitizer, digital thermometer, sore throat pops, lip balm, mineral bath salts, and an Amazon gift card!