Germs and the Classroom

According to an article in the September 2010 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, classroom germs have real consequences for kids.  Earlier this year, a research team from the University of Arizona in Tucson evaluated six elementary schools classrooms, half had surfaces swabbed daily with a disinfectant, half didn't.  Kids assigned to the unsanitized classrooms were 2-3 times more likely to miss school due to illness, and were absent longer.  The students who sat in squeaky clean classrooms were healthier and missed less school.  Below are simple suggestions tools that can reduce your child's risk.

1. Mechanical Pencils: Hand-cranked pencil sharpeners are often used but rarely cleaned, making them a top source of infectious microbes, says the UA team.

2. Hand Sanitizer: Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is an effective fallback if kids can't leave class to wash up.  But they'll never use it if it's at the bottom of the backpacks. 

3. Exact Lunch Money:  Studies show that the flu virus can survive at leas an hour on bills and coins.  Insulate our child from "cash flow cooties" with exact change for lunch.