As the school year begins, parents have so many things on our minds. From establishing a routine to the chaos of homework and dinner, it can get overwhelming, but when you throw in the Fall Season (which is right around the corner), we're also stuck worrying about Cold & Flu viruses. Kids are around so many people at school that it's almost fool proof that they're bringing home LOTS of germs.

So, how do you combat the germ war in your home? Well, we've got some great tips from Lysol that we'd like to share, but moreover? We've discovered a new way to wash hands that kids are going to LOVE!

1. Teach your child how and when to wash his/her hands. He/she should wash for 20 seconds; a handy timer is to sing the "Happy Birthday Song" all the way through, twice.
2. Review proper Handwashing Steps.
3. Continually reinforce the fact that everyone should wash his or her hands for at least 20 seconds before every meal, after using the bathroom and after playing outside.
4. Make handwashing fun by downloading a handwashing poster to read together and hang by your bathroom sink.
5. Show your child how to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, for those times when soap and water are not available.
6. Pack your child's backpack with tissues and hand sanitizer to carry along to school.
7. Designate an area near the door where everyone can take off their shoes and drop their bags when they come inside. This helps reduce the tracking of dirt and germs throughout your home.
8. Send your child straight to the sink upon arrival home, to scrub his/her hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. As CDC has noted, handwashing is the most effective way to prevent the spread of illness-causing germs.
9. Talk to your child to make sure he/she is following important personal hygiene habits both at home and in the classroom. Together, visit the Ounce of Prevention for Kids website, developed in partnership with the CDC. It offers for plenty of good, clean fun along with interactive games and exercises to help make hygiene a priority: www.oopkids.com
10. As a parent, remain diligent about cleaning and disinfecting tables, countertops and other frequently touched surfaces. (All food contact surfaces must be rinsed after disinfection.) These practices will help you to stop the spread of germs your child may have brought home from school. Disinfect the hard surfaces and sanitize the soft surfaces that kids touch, including doorknobs, light switches and book bags.

With the tips above, we've been disinfecting around the house MORE the last week than we have all Summer long and the kids seem to actually be okay with that... probably because of our new soap dispenser and easy clean up wipes in their bathroom.


My kids are 7 and 9 years of age and they are happy to help me clean up IF the cleaning products are handy. I keep a container of Lysol Dual Action Disinfecting Wipes in their bathroom so they can wipe down the sink or clean "other accidents" in the bathroom, but by FAR the favorite is our LYSOL® Healthy Touch® No-Touch Hand Soap System.


Think restaurant hand dispenser. You've seen those fancy things where you simply place your hands and soap dispenses, right? Now you can have it home, to help prevent the spread of germs, while making it easy for the kids to wash up after school. GENIUS!


As a parent, I love that companies like Lysol are helping us parents teach out kids about healthy hygiene by creating new products that make it easy at home. The no hands soap system is, by far, one of our favorite products and the fact that it comes in different scents like Grapefruit Essence™, Cucumber Splash™, Aloe Vera & Vitamin E with Moisturizers, and Antibacterial Total Care.


You can find Lysol products in your local grocery store or stores like Target and Walmart, as well as Amazon.com. The Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap System is on Amazon for $17.95.


Lysol has so many exciting things going on. They've partnered with Whirlpool® for the Lysol® No-Touch® Stainless Kitchen Sweepstakes where you can win a stainless steel kitchen set to match your soap dispenser. Trust me. You'll want to win these appliances. I'm REALLY enjoying my Whirlpool® Duet Washer and Dryer and I JUST got home from the Whirlpool® headquarters in Benton Harbor, MI and Chicago with all KINDS of cool tips for cooking and cleaning.

Just recently Lyson had a LIVE Chat on Facebook and on their site discussing healthy tips for the school year. You can check out the tips through their recorded chat here.


Disclosure: This post made possible by Lysol through Mom Select who provided me with a sample product to facilitate this post. Opinions, stated, are always my own and never wavered by products received nor compensated unless, otherwise, stated. I'm an Amazon Affiliated site. If purchase is made through links found here, small compensation will incur.
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