"Sharing" and children's health

By Lawrence Manetti, St. Joseph School Principal

Teaching children to share is one of the most important things that parents and teachers can do.

Yet there are times when we much teach youngsters not to share.

Of course, I am talking about the times when sharing can lead to spread of disease among children and others.

Let’s all teach our children:

** do not share hats, caps, headbands or anything else that touches your hair. Sharing such items can lead to the spread of head lice from child to child.

** do not share anything that has already been in or on someone else’s mouth: a can of soda, a sports drink bottle, food, drinking straws, lip balm or lipstick, and so forth. Certain types of bacteria are spread by shared saliva, including some types of bacteria that can cause illnesses like meningitis.

** do not share towels or anything that may have come into contact with another person’s open cut or sore. Certain types of bacteria can be transmitted this way, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics and can in some cases be dangerous.

Additionally, we must teach youngsters not to “share” coughs or sneezes. Cover your cough, cover your sneeze, use facial tissues and discard them promptly, and wash hands regularly with soap and water. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizers when soap and water are not available.

Finally, the best way to teach these lessons is to lead by example. When children see adults with healthy habits, they understand that we mean what we say about good hygiene.

For more information, here is a link to a helpful page on hand washing, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/HandWashing/

Have a great day…