Keeping your kids and your classroom healthy can be tough. Schools are hot zones for germs, and common illnesses like the cold and flu can spread quickly among kids when they are in close contact with each other.
Most people would think that the restroom is the germiest place at school. Not so. School restrooms are cleaned regularly. The door to the restroom is another story – not all kids wash their hands after going to the bathroom and everyone touches the door.
Cafeteria trays and lunch boxes are in constant contact with hands and food, allowing germs and pathogens to breed quickly. Even worse, cafeteria trays are not regularly and thoroughly wiped down between meals.
Children spend the majority of their day at their desks, meaning all coughs, sneezes, boogers, and hand contaminants end up here.
Classrooms are full of pencils, crayons, papers, and books that kids touch and share. Studies have found that the germiest place in the classroom is typically the pencil sharpener. Kids can pick up a lot of germs here because it is used so frequently.
.jpg)
Kids sometimes put their mouths right on the fountain spigot, which is cleaned and disinfected less frequently than the bathroom. Teach your kids to keep their mouth off of the spigot and to let the water run for a few seconds before drinking.
Kids won’t be able to avoid the germiest places at school, but most germs can be eliminated with hand washing. Encourage your kids to wash their hands frequently throughout the day, using an antibacterial soap.
Best Practices for Teachers:
Teachers should use disinfectants, such as Lysol® Disinfectant Spray, keep their classroom clean of germs and pathogens.
