Category: health & hygiene

Dr. Charles Gerba offered an interesting article on how to keep the kids away from germs this summer. Here is what they had to say.

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So what are some of the common pitfalls leading to summer illness? First and foremost, foodborne viruses (more commonly referred to as “food poisoning”) reach peak levels due to moisture and warmer temperatures. But hand contact plays just as big of a role during the summer, leading to the spread of enteroviruses that can cause summer colds and aseptic meningitis.

This summer, stay proactive and encourage children to wash their hands often. Here are a few other useful tips for keeping germs away from your family during the warmer months.

• Playtime faux pas: Soccer balls, footballs, bikes, slides and handheld game devices are among the most notable playtime items for spreading E. coli and other fecal bacteria. Likewise, sandboxes can become contaminated with fecal bacteria, usually from passing animals that use them as litter boxes. Especially following outdoor play, make sure children wash their hands for as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice, and cover sandboxes when they’re not in use.
• Coverplay slip cover: No doubt, for those who have young children, keeping their play area free from germs can be a hassle. Luckily, there is a great new product out there called Coverplay that helps fights germs around your child’s playyard. It’s simple, just slip it on! Helps fight bacteria and viruses to keep your child healthy.
• Surface cleaning: The home environment is the easiest for a parent to control. Pay special attention to surfaces within the home — especially high-touch points like counters, doorknobs, keyboards, light switches and the like — as enteroviruses and some bacteria are known to survive on surfaces for as much as weeks.
• Pool etiquette: Chlorine-resistant bacteria like Cryptosporidium (diarrhea-causing) should invoke a little more caution in your typical trip to the public pool. If you plan on attending a public pool, it’s a good idea to go in the morning. Or, set up a small wading pool in the backyard if your child is young enough.
• Picnic problems: Between the temperature and nature, picnics can be bacterial hotspots — unless you take the proper precautions. Try to bring a table cloth or avoid picnic tables, popular hangouts for birds that in turn leave fecal matter behind. Foods, the most vulnerable of which is salad dressing, rapidly spoil in warmer temperatures, so always bring an ice-filled cooler along to keep food fresh.

Getting your child a play yard is one of the smartest things that you, as a parent, can do for your child. It allows them to have fun and be safe at the same time, allowing you to handle other duties as a parent. What could be better? How about adding a Coverplay Slip Cover to it? Coverplay’s slip covers are great for making play pens much more aesthetic and for preventing germs. Keeping kids healthy is always in-style with Coverplay! However, to make sure you get the best out of your baby play yard, here are some safety suggestions to follow:

Safety and Play Yards

1. The play yard should not have any sharp edges. This factor should be ensured not only at the time of purchasing the baby play yard, but also from time to time, once your baby starts using it. Sharp edges can be quite dangerous.
2. It is also necessary to keep making occasional thorough checks of the play yard mesh fabric. Make sure that it stays free of any excessive wear or tear. In case wear or tear does happen, mend it immediately, or if required get it replaced. You don’t want them to tear it down even more or start fussing with it, do you?! Maintaining the play yard well is a good practice.
3. If you have opted for a play yard that has been made out of wood, make sure that the wooden slates of the play yard are not more than 3/8 to 2 inches apart. Slates that are too wide apart allow them to slip out of the yard easily, or sometimes get trapped as they make an attempt to slip out.
4. Though you would obviously like to fill up the yard with toys, avoid placing of too many padded objects that can be easily stacked. This helps to ensure that they do not stack up the toys to climb up on them to escape from the play yard. The worst case scenario is when the baby makes and attempt to climb out, and falls down instead, getting hurt.
5. Avoid the use of hanging strings. They pose the risk of causing suffocation to children, especially the much younger ones. Even if they do not really cause suffocation, they can sometimes be extremely irritating.
6. Generally it is better to avoid the use of loose bedding in the play yard as far as possible. They are messy and cause unnecessary trouble to them during their play time. Also, in the case of younger children, loose bedding can even cause suffocation.

After spending a great fourth of July weekend almost entirely at the beach, I started to think about how much more I am outside these days. During the summer months everybody always wants to enjoy the sun and beautiful weather, and thus, we are exposed to much more bacteria and potential for our little ones to get sick. In order to protect our babies from germs, we need to make sure that we have coverplay slipcovers and that we wash them regularly. So July is here, and August is on the horizon, and this means more weekend barbeques, beach trips and easy days by the pool. Enjoy the rest of the summer knowing that your little ones have clean slipcovers and that they are protected against all of the germs in the air.

As San Diego saw it’s first swine flu death this week, it is more important now than ever to make sure that our little ones are not exposed to bacteria, germs and disease. A great and easy way to protect your baby from germs is to make sure they stay away from dirty play yards. The 20-year-old San Diego woman became sick on the weekend and died within 24 hours. According to county health officials, San Diego County swine flu victims range in age from four months to 81 years. Anyone can become sick from this flu, regardless of age. Coverplay slipcovers for pack ‘n play will help keep your child away from the virus. Everyone please wash their hands, be careful in heavily populated public places.