Strep throat seems to have hit my home like the plague. Some illnesses are much more contagious than others and strep is one of them. I have spent my weekend cleaning ALL the toys in the toy room as well as sanitizing all common touch areas.
I found this little blurb and thought I would share it with you.
Happy cleaning.
Why is Toy Cleaning Important?
There are tons of reasons which we can discuss, but for me the biggest one would be to keep kids as healthy as possible.
According to the Fisher-Price website,
What causes a cold?
Contrary to its name, a cold is not caused by exposure to cold air—it’s caused by a virus infection. Colds are also known as Upper Respiratory Infections or URIs, and 200 different kinds of viruses have been found to cause them. Studies have shown that people who were exposed to a respiratory virus got sick with a cold, while people simply exposed to cold air did not get sick. Interestingly, those exposed to the virus plus cold air were no more likely to get sick than those exposed to the virus alone.
Why, then, are colds more common in the fall and winter? The cold weather doesn’t give children colds, but it makes them spend more time indoors where they spread the viruses to each other. In fact, keeping children indoors with the heat turned up and the windows shut actually makes them more likely to catch colds.
How do you prevent the spread of colds?
It’s probably inevitable that your child will get some colds. Infants and toddlers average 10-12 colds per year, preschoolers average 5-6 per year, and older children and adults typically get fewer. Although it’s miserable to have a cold, the good news is that exposure to the viruses helps children develop immunity to help prevent future colds. And staying healthy with good nutrition, enough sleep, and exercise helps to keep the immune system strong.
Because kids are always getting sick, and because they are always playing with toys (and each other), cleaning toys is crucial to keeping colds away, especially during the colder indoor months.
Some Quick Tips
I found this little blurb and thought I would share it with you.
Happy cleaning.
Why is Toy Cleaning Important?
There are tons of reasons which we can discuss, but for me the biggest one would be to keep kids as healthy as possible.
According to the Fisher-Price website,
What causes a cold?
Contrary to its name, a cold is not caused by exposure to cold air—it’s caused by a virus infection. Colds are also known as Upper Respiratory Infections or URIs, and 200 different kinds of viruses have been found to cause them. Studies have shown that people who were exposed to a respiratory virus got sick with a cold, while people simply exposed to cold air did not get sick. Interestingly, those exposed to the virus plus cold air were no more likely to get sick than those exposed to the virus alone.
Why, then, are colds more common in the fall and winter? The cold weather doesn’t give children colds, but it makes them spend more time indoors where they spread the viruses to each other. In fact, keeping children indoors with the heat turned up and the windows shut actually makes them more likely to catch colds.
How do you prevent the spread of colds?
It’s probably inevitable that your child will get some colds. Infants and toddlers average 10-12 colds per year, preschoolers average 5-6 per year, and older children and adults typically get fewer. Although it’s miserable to have a cold, the good news is that exposure to the viruses helps children develop immunity to help prevent future colds. And staying healthy with good nutrition, enough sleep, and exercise helps to keep the immune system strong.
Because kids are always getting sick, and because they are always playing with toys (and each other), cleaning toys is crucial to keeping colds away, especially during the colder indoor months.
Some Quick Tips
- Clean fallen toys with a baby wipe if you are out and can’t properly clean the toy.
- For parents who want to be chemical-free, use a steam cleaner to steam clean toys, play pens, baby carriers and high chairs for easy and effective cleaning and sanitizing, wipe clean with a cloth.
- Baby and toddler toys should be cleaned once or twice weekly since they are often placed in the child’s mouth, and can also be shared with other children. Children’s toys can be cleaned monthly and plush toys can be cleaned a couple times per year.