This post has been sponsored by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. All thoughts and reviews are my own.
A cold front has set up camp here in South Florida. Day after day for the better part of a week, I’ve bundled my kids up to head off to school, soccer, dance, and all their other activities. With more cool temperatures in our forecast – due to a cool front hitting tonight – I’ve almost given up hope that South Florida will return to that warm place where everyone vacations.
But the cold temperatures outside are the least of my worries. What I’m really concerned about are colds…and the flu. Both of which seem to accompany these cold fronts on the rare occasions when they sweep through South Florida. My boss is sick, my neighbor is sick, our babysitters are sick, everyone is sick…illness seems to be taking out everyone around us, one by one. How long until it’s me? Or worse, my kids? Because the one thing I don’t need right now, less than 2 weeks before Christmas, is 3 sick children.
So while I can’t control the weather, here’s how I’m preparing my kids for cold and flu season:
Reiterate Healthy Habits. Sure there are lots of healthy habits, but for me, this one boils down to one thing: hand washing. According to the CDC, hand washing is the simplest and most effective way to remove germs and avoid getting sick. When you can’t wash your hands, hand sanitizer is the next best thing. We keep an extra sanitizer in the back seat of my car for the kids so they can clean on the go.
Get a Professional Opinion. I’m a bit behind on the girls’ well visits. Several months behind, if I’m being honest. So instead of staying that way, we’re going to the pediatrician this week to talk flu shots, vitamins, supplements, and anything else that might help us through this cold and flu season. It never hurts to get a professional opinion!
Dress in Layers. With temperatures changing from 40 to 60 to 80 on a daily basis (sometimes all in one day!), I dress my kids in layers and keep extra hoodies and jackets in the car. They let me know that they don’t appreciate the extra layers, but at least they aren’t complaining about being cold.
Prepare, prepare, prepare. Even with all of the above precautions, I know that cold and flu season is coming for me, so I need to be prepared with a fully stocked medicine cabinet. If you haven’t already, this is the time to stock up on Infants’ Advil®, Children’s Advil®, Children’s Robitussin ® DM Day/Night Pack, and Children’s Dimetapp® Cold & Cough.
Having these medicines on hand will have you ready for whatever cold and flu season hands you.
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How do you prepare for cold and flu season?
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We got sick early this year after back to school time. Rest, liquids, and time.
Thanks for the chance.
Yes, I have had a couple start with sore throats since school started and we had some sore medicine and advil I gave to them.
A few colds this season; i keep the meds on hand at all times to be ready.
My kids have gotten sick and I have good medicines on hand to help with it and they drink plenty of fluids and rest.
I had a cold and took over the counter medicine.
We got sick and took cold meds and drank hot tea with lemon
My kid got sick in late November. We took Children’s Advil, rest, hot chicken noodle soup to help.
My son caught a cold right after he started school this year. We used OTC meds to help ease the symptoms, and I made homemade chicken soup!
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
My son has been fighting a cold. He has taken cold medication and we’re just letting it run its course.
My niece got sick last month and we made sure to sanitize the house and give her plenty of fluids and rest.
The kids have not gotten sick this year. I like to use Children’s Advil when they are sick.
******I made a mistake on the widget – I follow you on twitter via @myway070
Thankfully we haven’t really gotten sick.
Yes, at one time we had the whole household sick. I try to keep things clean and sanitized. It’s best to try to get rest as much as possible and keep them entertained a bit as well.
We are very healthy in our home. no sicknesses.
My son had a cold. I had him drink lots of water and get lots of rest.
We have been sick twice so far. We drink plenty of fluids and get a lot of rest.
Getting lots of rest is the best way to deal with a sickness.
Yes, my son caught a bad cold. I had him rest, drink lots of water and gave him cold medicine.
Thankfully none of us have been sick this year.
Yes we have had colds. We use medication and get lots of rest.
Yes my daughter has been sick several times this year. She has been treated in the hospital.
It’s the end of the year so yes and we treated it with rest, soup, meds and hydration.
Luckily my kids have not gotten sick yet this season. We get them eating healthy and washing hands often to stop spread of all those germs.
My Son is in 1st grade and this year is much better than kindergarten. I always dab a bit of vasoline on his nose to prevent chafing. Lots of liquid and rest in our home when we are sick.
BOTH OF MY KIDS HAVE HAD COLDS THIS YEAR. I TREATED THEM W/CHILDREN’S TYLENOL, REST AND CARE AND HOMEMADE CHICKEN SOUP:)
I had the flu in March and treated it by sleeping A LOT. My kids have had colds and we love to use Robitussin.
My daughter has gotten a fever once this year and I treated it with Children’s Advil, lots of snuggles and watching her favorite tv show!
We have all had minor colds this past week. We are drinking lots of fluids and trying to rest extra.
My daughter has been sick. lots of juice and rest
No sickness so far – but everyone we know is sick it seems.
My kids get colds a couple of times a year. I keep medicines and tissues on hand They drink plenty of fluids and get rest.
Yes, I treated it with lots of rest.
We’ve had a few sick days already and we use Robitussin DM
Both my boys recently had strep. They both went to the doc for antibiotics. We treated their fevers with Tylenol and Advil.
Yes we have had cold and flu. My oldest daughter has an auto-immune condition that consequently makes her get sick very often like twice per month. We use Advil and Dimetapp. They work well for every single member in our family. Thanks for the chance to win such an amazing giveaway.Happy Holidays.