Even Healthy Kids Get the Flu

on September 7, 2009 at 7:37 AM

I'm thinking something right now that I shouldn't, but with my kids heading back to school tomorrow, I can't help it:

"I can't remember the last time my childen were really sick."

There, I've said it. And now that I have, I know I'm doomed. A fever or sniffles will be waiting for me when I walk in the door. It's always the way.

Yet, I find it miraculous how long a stretch my kids can go without getting sick. You start to think they are done will illness forever. Then, just a few days into the school year ... bam! My little picture of health collapses into a ball of misery on the couch, refusing to eat or sleep ... and my husband and I are left scrambling to find child care.

The point is, no matter how healthy your child is, no matter how many times you get him to wash his hands and sneeze into his elbow, and no matter how much orange juice he drinks, it's often no match for all the colliding forces that strike during the first weeks of school:

Colder weather
New germs floating around the ventilation systems
Flu bugs thriving on the verge of their favorite time of year
Parents sending their kids to school when "a little" sick
Little fidgets constantly touching their eyes, nose and mouth

So I'm going to keep my freshly-washed fingers crossed and hope that I've done all I can to keep my kids healthy this season. And I figure giving them another glass of orange juice won't hurt, either.

Related posts:

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About the author Cynthia Dermody

is The Stir's Managing Editor who has trophies in her home for her skills at the Irish Jig. She makes cupcakes with as many fattening ingredients as possible, doesn't comb her hair for months at a time, and was probably a faerie in a former life.