Search Results for: blog back to school germs

What’s Holding You Back?

Logan and I both went to the doctor today. We both have Influenza Type A, which basically means we both have this tiny microscopic germ that has taken over our bodies and left us feeling rather miserable. Not only are we both feeling a little miserable, we’ve also been banned from going back to school for the rest of the week. Logan’s not too concerned about this of course, but I know it will leave me trying to play catch-up in the weeks to come, which as a single mother is rather daunting in and of itself, but to be … Continue reading →

Cutting Back on Expenses to Stay at Home with Your Child

When planning for our first child, we figured that I would take some time off but eventually head back to work at least a few days a week. I didn’t want to send my baby off to daycare, but we didn’t think we could manage to pay our bills unless I did. Then fate threw us a curveball. Our daughter couldn’t go to daycare, at least not for the first 6 months, and after that, it would still be better if she didn’t. Having cystic fibrosis means avoiding people with colds and respiratory viruses at all costs and, as we … Continue reading →

Health at School: New Shoes

Back to school shopping was always a horrible trial for my family. I’ve never been a huge fan of clothes shopping, so it was a miserable experience just for that. Then there was the huge divide in taste between me and my mom, which eventually got settled with this rule: if I picked something she hated, then she got to pick something I hated. Shoe shopping was only slightly less of a battlefield, if only because the choices were somewhat more limited! Much of our shoe shopping (in the elementary school years, at least) was done at the little shoe … Continue reading →

When Should Kids Return to School?

When I was a kid we started school after Labor Day. Seems like more and more school districts are starting school earlier. Here in Mobile, school started on August 9. That seems extremely early to me. To top it off it’s so darned HOT can kids really be expected to learn when their brains are fried? As I end my first full-week of homeschooling Tyler, I find that it was a difficult week at best. As much as he likes learning, I sensed that he’s not ready to formally return to school just yet. Also, he knows his school in … Continue reading →

Back to School Germs

My two children and I spent the summer home together. Yes we did venture out shopping and to the park, but I did not get a summer job and they did not attend the babysitter’s house or preschool. At the beginning of this month, we all got back into a routine of having a place to go each day. I began a new year of teaching, my daughter started part time preschool, and my son headed back to the babysitter’s house. Within a week of the family getting back on schedule, we all had a cold, cough, or runny nose. … Continue reading →

Schools Closing for Sick Days

This time of year germs are thriving. Schools are their haven. Children are sharing far more than pencils and crayons. My school is now experiencing absent students due to flu, strep throat, and the common cold. Some schools in surrounding areas have closed due to sicknesses. My district rarely closes due to children being absent with sicknesses. It seems that the illnesses always hit one or two schools at a time. In order for the county to cancel school, a majority of the schools have to be experiencing a great number of absent students. I think that it is a … Continue reading →

Put Kids to Work

My parents were huge proponents of the idiom:  “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings.” In other words, my mom and dad hated seeing their offspring sit around when there was work to be done.  And when you’re living in a home occupied by six people, there’s never a shortage of tasks to be completed. For me, summer meant tennis camp, swimming lessons and plenty of chores.  In my dad’s eyes, no job was too dirty for his little girl.  Looking back, I don’t begrudge my father for keeping me and my brothers busy during the dog days of summer.  In … Continue reading →

Let Them Get Dirty

We all want to do everything we can to keep our children from getting sick. We feel terrible for them, it’s no fun to be sick. When you are a single parent, a sick child can become a major issue, there is no one else to share the burden of missed time from work, and if you don’t have the sick leave to take, it can mean missing work without pay. So we fill our homes with everything we can find to stave off illness. Soaps, toothpaste and other personal hygiene items can be bought with anti bacterial agents. I … Continue reading →

Revenge of the Lysol Moms

Have you heard about the moms who took cleaning to a whole new level? According to reports, two Colorado moms are being accused of spraying Lysol on teens they saw dirty dancing at a local high school prom. Clearly, the mothers didn’t read the back of the Lysol can very well; otherwise they would have realized that the disinfectant spray kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria on commonly touched, hard, non-porous surfaces. C’mon, everyone knows even the toughest skinned teens are pretty porous. The moms should have used Clorox. I’m kidding. And by kidding, I mean rocking a mean smirk … Continue reading →

Antibacterial, Friend or Foe

An important part of keeping out homes clean is to protect our families from germs. We teach our toddlers to wash their hands after going to the bathroom and before eating. We put our babies in shopping carts but first we wipe the bar with an antibacterial wipe. When we are out and have no way to wash our child’s hands we break out the antibacterial hand wash or wipes. Are we suffering from antibacterial overload? Everything has antibacterial properties now, dish washing liquid, hand soap, body wash. Is all this antibacterial stuff actually harmful to us? When I was … Continue reading →