If you have school-aged children, you know that they are going to get sick. Sometimes it seems like they just get sick way too much and it always seems like it’s the exact same sickness. I know classrooms where as many as half of the kids are out sick! Even the teachers get sick, missing over five days per year due to illness. One of the number one reasons for absenteeism is “presenteeism”, sending kids to school even when they are sick. In fact, even seemingly healthy kids can shed germs up to three days before they start to feel sick. Enter the Healthy Classroom Station.
Kimberly-Clark Professional has started The Healthy Schools Project, an initiative to provide hygienic solutions for the entire school, not just the restrooms. They go beyond the products to providing materials that can teach students about the germs and why they should keep their hands, desks, doorknobs, etc. clean. For example, did you know that germs can live on a surface for up to 48 hours? Anyone touching that surface during that time can get infected. And did you know that the average desk has 400 times more germs on it than the average toilet seat?? To help keep the kids from getting sick, The Healthy Schools Project is based on a three step cleaning process, Wash, Wipe, and Sanitize. Easy, right?
We had a great opportunity to help out Grace’s classroom by donating a Healthy Classroom Station. This thing was actually pretty cool. It is a stepped plastic station that holds anti-viral tissues, hand sanitizer, and surface cleaning wipes. Instead of having tissues in one place, sanitizer on the other side of the room, and cleaning wipes who knows where, it is all together, in one place! For Grace’s first-grade class, this makes it easier and keeps them away from instruction for less time when they go to blow their noses.
To help spread the word about germs, Kimberly-Clark even provided us with some great classroom materials. Check out these cute stickers letting kids know where the germs hang out!
If you are looking for more information about healthy schools and fighting germs, check out The Healthy School Project on Facebook and Twitter.
Have your kids gotten sick from school? Have you sent them to school sick? Let us know what you do to keep your kids healthy.
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