There is no way to guarantee that your preschooler wont get sick during winter. Many common winter viruses are airborne . As a result,  if a child takes a breathe within about 4 to 6 feet of a sick person, she can catch the bug.

You also have to know that most people infected with winter viruses are contagious before symptoms even start showing . Therefore pulling your child away from a sniffing, coughing or sneezing person doesn’t guarantee that she wont get sick , neither does bundling up.  Studies have shown that exposure to cold or damp weather doesn’t increase the child’s likelihood of catching a cold.

However you can fight of the germs and reduce your child’s risk of infection.

How to keep your preschooler healthy during winter

• Let the child practice personal hygiene such as washing  her hands with soap and water after visiting the bathroom, before and after meals and as soon as she comes home from preschool, playground or a friend’s house.
• Teach your child not to touch  her nose. When a child rubs her  eyes or nose, she deposits the germs from her  unwashed hands directly into the mucus membranes where they are rapidly absorbed into the blood stream.
• Teach your child to blow her  nose. By blowing her nose, she can help her  body get rid of all extra mucous its producing during a cold.
• Make sure your child’s school has a  sick kid  policy which requires sick kids to be kept at home until symptoms subside
• It is important to make sure that your child’s vaccines are up to date.
• Boost your child’s  immunity by offering variety of healthy foods so that she gets the nutrients she needs. It is also important to make sure the child is getting enough sleep at night and lots of physical activity during the day.