Protecting Children From Flu

Information for Parents, Schools, and Childcare Providers

Educators, staff, and parents can help slow the spread of colds and flu. On this page, you will find more information on preventing the flu, as well as, materials and tools for schools.

Always remind children to:

• Cover their nose and mouth with a tissue when they cough or sneeze—have them throw the tissue away after they use it.
• Wash their hands often with soap and water, especially after they cough or sneeze. If water is not near, use an alcohol-based hand cleaner.
• Remind them to not to touch their eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs often spread this way

• Children and the Flu Vaccine
  CDC recommendations on which children should get a flu vaccine
• Preventing the Spread of Influenza (the Flu) in Child Care Settings: Guidance for Administrators, Care Providers, and Other Staff
  Flu recommendations for schools and child care providers
• Questions and Answers: Information for Schools
  Printable version of answers to questions commonly asked by school administrators, teachers, staff, and parents
• Stopping Germs at Home, Work and School
  Fact sheet
• Protecting Against the Flu: Advice for Caregivers of Children Less Than 2 Years Old
  Recent studies have shown that children less than 2 years old - even previously healthy children - are more likely than older children to end up in the hospital with serious complications if they get flu...
• Snort. Sniffle. Sneeze. No Antibiotics Please!
  Explains why antibiotics don’t work for a cold or the flu
• Ounce of Prevention
  Tips and streaming video for parents and children about the steps and benefits of effective hand washing
• Flu Season and Schools
  Guidance from the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools (CHHCS)

School Materials and Posters

Germ Stopper Materials

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"Be a Germ Stopper" posters and screensavers. Simple reminders for good hygiene for use in classrooms, cafeterias or laminated for bathrooms.

See the Stop the Spread of Germs site at www.cdc.gov/germstopper.

Cover Your Cough Materials

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See the Cover Your Cough page on this site for poster and flyer formatted for use in schools.

"It's a SNAP" Toolkit

Program materials to help prevent school absenteeism
Activities for school administrators, teachers, students and others can do to help stop the spread of germs in schools.
See the handcleaning section of the "It's a SNAP" site at www.itsasnap.org/snap/about.asp.

Scrub Club

Kids can learn about health and hygiene and become members of the Scrub Club(tm) at www.scrubclub.org. The site features a fun and educational animated Webisode with seven "soaper-heros" who battle nasty villains who represent germs and bacteria. Kids learn the six key steps to proper handwashing through a webisode, handwashing song, interactive games, activities for kids and educational materials for teachers are also available to download.