Clorox.com | Pointers for Parents from Clorox Classroooms

Healthy Kids Start at Home

Keeping kids healthy happens at school and at home. Check out tips for supporting a clean and healthy classroom, extending the hygiene messages kids learn at school once home, and more.

Click on a topic below to learn more about how to keep the classroom clean and healthy.

Healthy Classroom Supply Checklist
Did you know many teachers use their own money to purchase classroom supplies? Do your child’s teacher a favor by donating wipes and other products that help prevent the spread of germs. Your generosity helps to keep your child’s classroom cleaner and healthier, especially at the start of the school year, and during cold and flu season.*

Suggested items include
- Hand sanitizer
- Especially those packed with Vitamin C
  Healthy snacks
- Liquid hand soap
- Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes
- Tissues
*Check school policy to confirm the use and donation of products is acceptable. Adults must deliver any donations themselves; do not accept products from students. Store and keep products out of the reach of students. Adults should supervise use of hand sanitizing products.

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Disinfecting Germy Household Hotspots
Even though you may be cleaning frequently, how often do you disinfect? It’s an important step in helping to keep your home healthy, especially around the hotspots that have a lot of family traffic or during cold and flu season. Quickly and regularly disinfecting these germ “hot spots” will help keep your home healthy.
- 5 min clean routine
  Target germ “hot spots,” areas that are touched multiple times a day. Use
  Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes on:
- Refrigerator and microwave door handles
- Kitchen and bathroom faucets
- Toilet handles
- TV remotes
- Phone receivers
- 10 min clean routine
  In addition to the above steps:
- Wipe light switches and doorknobs with Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes.
- Disinfect countertops with Clorox® Disinfecting Kitchen Cleaner.
- Sanitize cutting boards with Clorox® Regular-Bleach
- Spray the tub/shower with a disinfectant like Clorox® Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner.
- 25 min clean routine
  In addition to the 5- and 10-minute routines:
- Clean the toilet bowl, seat and cover with Clorox® Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Bleach
- Run an empty load in your washing machine with Clorox®Regular-Bleach as directed to kill bacteria and viruses spread by contaminated clothing
- Sweep and mop the kitchen and bathroom floors with Clorox®Disinfecting Floor and Surface Cleaner
- Vacuum the carpets
Here’s a hot tip

Help wash away germs on Laundry Day! Clothes with viruses on them can contaminate other clothes in the wash and remain in your washing machine. To reduce the germs spread throughout your household, run an empty load with Clorox® Regular-Bleach in your washing machine as directed.

Looking for simple solutions that kill bacteria and germs that can make you and your family sick? Try these germbuster favorites*:
*Use products as directed on hard nonporous surfaces.
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Extending Healthy Hygiene at Home
We know you are always looking for ways to create a happy, healthier classroom for your kids by fighting the spread of germs that can cause illness. Although some sick days are inevitable, teachers and parents can do a lot to minimize the spread of germs and create healthier environments for kids at school – and at home. Following are some easy ways you, as a parent, can help.

Remember to follow the Germbuster Rule:

Tell parents that if kids are sick, keep them home from school.
Teach your children to wash their hands the right way.
Make sure kids wash hands frequently with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds (the time it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice).

Make sure your kids do the "elbow cough."
Teach kids to cough into their elbows, not hands – where they’re more likely to spread bacteria and viruses through touch.

Disinfect household "hot spots."
Help prevent the spread of germs by using Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes as directed to disinfect germ hot spots in your home:
- Phones
- Light switches
- Doorknobs
- Refrigerator handles
- Kitchen / bathroom sink faucets
Donate Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, especially at the start of flu season to help teachers keep their student’s classroom clean. Look for disinfecting wipes that kill 99.9% of germs that can cause the flu.

* Ask school before donating. Adult delivery.
Children typically get 6 to 10 colds a year, and 80% of parents say they’ve missed work to care for their kids. That’s why it’s so important to have a childcare plan in place before your kids get sick.

To Make yours:

Authorize a caregiver.
Designate someone else who can pick up your child from school or make medical decisions in your absence in case you’re unable to.

Make arrangements at work.
Talk to your supervisor at work about whether you’ll be able to leave work to pick up a sick child, or whether you can work from home temporarily if you have to care for your child there. You’ll save a lot of frustration on both sides if you work out a plan in advance.

Take turns.
Share the responsibility of caring for sick kids with your spouse, friends and other family members. By taking turns, you won’t have to bear the full burden of doctor’s visits, sick days and missed work. With your "sick plan" in place, you won’t have to scramble when the inevitable happens.

Care for sick kids at home.
Giving children time to rest and recuperate at home isn’t just good for their health, it’s good for all of us. Germs are spread by touch so it’s easy to see how quickly those illness-causing germs can spread around the classroom.

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Other Helpful Resources
Here are some other websites that you may find helpful:
- www.clorox.com Resources to help you create a clean and sanitary environment for your little ones.
- www.sayboototheflu.com Get seasonal flu vaccine information and say "Boo!" to the flu this flu season.
- www.cdc.gov/flu Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) online source for credible health and influenza information.
- www.drlaundryblog.com Get expert laundry advice on how to get out the toughest stains from Clorox’s Dr. Laundry.
- www.childrenshealthfund.org Online site for the Children’s Health Fund, a national pediatric mobile program supporting direct health services and public education programs in disadvantaged rural and urban communities.
- www.familiesfightingflu.org An online source for influenza education from the non-profit organization Families Fighting Flu.
- www.vnaa.org Online home for the largest network of non-profit community immunizers in the country, The Visiting Nurse Associations of America’s (VNAA).
- www.kidshealth.org The Web’s most visited site about children’s health, from the health experts of Nemours.
- www.healthychildren.org Up-to-the-minute pediatric health information from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).