Key takeaways:
Children tend to get sick more often than adults for several reasons. Their immune systems are still developing. They spend a lot of time in close contact with other children. And they’re still learning good hygiene habits.
It’s very common for parents to catch their children’s illnesses. But there are steps you can take to lower your chances of catching their germs.
To decrease the chances of getting sick from your child, wash your hands often, disinfect your home, and use a humidifier. Also, try nasal saline rinses, and stay up-to-date with vaccines.
It’s hard to take care of a sick child. It’s even harder when you get sick from them too. And it doesn’t stop at the common cold. Kids are experts at passing on everything from strep throat to stomach bugs. There’s no foolproof way to avoid getting sick, but there are practical steps you can take to lower your risk.
Here are 9 tips to help you avoid getting sick from your child.
1. Wash your hands
Handwashing is a simple and effective way to prevent the spread of germs. But it’s easy to forget to do it.
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Wash your hands frequently, especially before meals. And teach your child how to wash their hands well. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends teaching your child to sing a song while handwashing to ensure they spend at least 20 seconds doing it.
If you’re unable to wash your hands with soap and water, you can use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
2. Don’t share utensils, cups, or food
You might be used to eating from your child’s plate at mealtime. But it’s better to avoid sharing cups, forks, or spoons if there’s a chance your child’s sick. Saliva can spread both stomach bugs and respiratory viruses. So you can keep yourself healthier by limiting that exposure.
3. Teach your child how to cough correctly
When your child coughs into the air, germs can spread for several feet. And when they cough into their hands, they can then spread germs to everything they touch. Instead, teach your child to cough into the bend of their elbow. This helps contain respiratory droplets while keeping germs off their hands.
4. Clean and disinfect the home
Germs can survive for hours (or even weeks) on surfaces. Standard cleaning with soap and water can get rid of many but not all germs. Disinfecting can kill germs that remain after cleaning. The CDC recommends disinfecting high-touch surfaces in your home if someone in the house is sick.
5. Use a humidifier
Using a humidifier in your home can help ease congestion or a sore throat. What’s more, the influenza virus is more contagious when the air is dry. Using a humidifier may decrease transmission rates of the flu and possibly other viruses. There’s even some evidence that using a humidifier in schools or hospitals may lower the number of sick days that people take.
6. Rinse your child’s nose
Rinsing your child’s nose with salt water may help your child get better faster. It may also improve cold symptoms and help reduce how easily their virus spreads.
If your child is cooperative, you can try using a neti pot or use an over-the-counter (OTC) nasal spray. You can also try a daily nasal sinus rinse yourself, especially if you develop symptoms.
7. Get your kid vaccinated
Make sure your child stays up-to-date on all their vaccines, including their seasonal flu and COVID-19 shots. Vaccines help train the immune system to fight off viruses and bacteria. And if your child does get infected, being vaccinated may reduce the risk of severe illness and help them recover faster.
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8. Consider early treatment
Most common childhood illnesses can be managed with at-home care. But some infections need prescription treatment. Starting the right medication early may help your child recover — and, in some cases, be less contagious — sooner.
Here are some situations where early treatment with prescription medication can help:
Strep throat: Kids with strep throat need antibiotics. Children are usually no longer contagious after about 24 hours of antibiotic treatment.
Flu: Most children with the flu get better without antiviral medication. But kids under age 5 — especially those under 2 — and those with certain health conditions have a higher risk of serious complications. For these children, flu antiviral treatment may be recommended.
If you think your child may have strep throat or the flu, reach out to their pediatrician or primary care provider.
9. Take care of yourself
Taking care of a child who’s not feeling well can be consuming. But it’s important to remember to take care of yourself and support your own immune system too. Try to do the following:
Take steps to get adequate sleep, which isn’t always easy to do if your child is up at night with symptoms.
Eat a nourishing, well-balanced diet that emphasizes colorful fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats.
Set aside time for yourself and activities that can help lower the stress that naturally comes with being a parent. Making time to regularly get physical activity that you enjoy and spending time outdoors are examples of habits that may help.
Consider whether certain supplements — such as vitamin C, vitamin D, probiotics, or zinc — make sense for you. Supplements aren’t magic cure-alls, but some may support immune function or help with certain infections.
Why do kids get sick so often?
It can feel like your child is always sick, especially during the winter. Children tend to get sick more often than adults for several reasons:
Their immune systems are still developing. Young children's immune systems aren’t fully developed, so they may have a tougher time fighting off infections.
They haven’t been exposed to as many infections. Because children haven’t encountered as many germs, they haven’t yet built up immunity to many common viruses and bacteria.
They haven’t yet learned good hygiene. If you’ve ever watched a child wipe their nose with their hand, you know that younger children don’t always have the best sense of hygiene. Combine that with their “touch-happy” nature and it’s easy to see why kids catch germs from their friends so easily.
They spend a lot of time around other kids. School and day care put children in close contact with many other kids — and the germs they carry. It may come as no surprise that children who go to day care or preschool are more likely to get sick than those who don’t.
Frequently asked questions
Kids spread their germs through contact with bodily fluids, including mucus from a runny nose, saliva, and airborne droplets from coughing. Germs can spread through vomit or stool too.
As a parent, you may be more exposed to your child’s germs when you wipe your child’s nose, share utensils, or change their diaper — or sleep in the same room. Of course, you probably can’t avoid all of these activities when you’re taking care of a sick child. But knowing when you’re at highest risk of exposure may help you take steps to reduce the chances of catching those germs.
There isn’t a specific age when kids suddenly stop getting sick so frequently. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, kids in group child care, such as day care or preschool, tend to get sick most often during their first year. Respiratory illnesses usually begin to decrease during year 2 as children build immunity to several of the germs they’ve encountered.
Usually, you and your child won’t keep passing the exact same infection back and forth. After your body fights off an infection, it develops an immune response that makes you less likely to catch it again right away. But different infections can spread through a household at the same time. For example, if you have the flu and your child has a cold, you could still pass those separate infections to each other.
Parents often catch illnesses from their kids, especially when their children are regularly around other kids. One study found that adults who lived with children tested positive for a respiratory virus about 3 more weeks per year than people who lived alone. But there’s no set number of times parents will get sick each year. It can depend on:
How often your child is around other kids
Household size
How much close caregiving you do
Your own immune health
Kids spread their germs through contact with bodily fluids, including mucus from a runny nose, saliva, and airborne droplets from coughing. Germs can spread through vomit or stool too.
As a parent, you may be more exposed to your child’s germs when you wipe your child’s nose, share utensils, or change their diaper — or sleep in the same room. Of course, you probably can’t avoid all of these activities when you’re taking care of a sick child. But knowing when you’re at highest risk of exposure may help you take steps to reduce the chances of catching those germs.
There isn’t a specific age when kids suddenly stop getting sick so frequently. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, kids in group child care, such as day care or preschool, tend to get sick most often during their first year. Respiratory illnesses usually begin to decrease during year 2 as children build immunity to several of the germs they’ve encountered.
Usually, you and your child won’t keep passing the exact same infection back and forth. After your body fights off an infection, it develops an immune response that makes you less likely to catch it again right away. But different infections can spread through a household at the same time. For example, if you have the flu and your child has a cold, you could still pass those separate infections to each other.
Parents often catch illnesses from their kids, especially when their children are regularly around other kids. One study found that adults who lived with children tested positive for a respiratory virus about 3 more weeks per year than people who lived alone. But there’s no set number of times parents will get sick each year. It can depend on:
How often your child is around other kids
Household size
How much close caregiving you do
Your own immune health
The bottom line
Kids are going to bring home germs, especially during the day care and preschool years. You may not be able to dodge every cold or stomach bug, but you can lower your risk. Washing your hands, staying current on vaccines, and disinfecting high-touch surfaces are a few habits that can help keep household germs from spreading quite so easily.
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References
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). The difference between cleaning, sanitizing, & disinfecting.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Hand sanitizer guidelines and recommendations.
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Healthychildren.org. (2024). When to keep your child home from child care. American Academy of Pediatrics.
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Moraes-Pinto, M. I., et al. (2021). Immune system: development and acquisition of immunological competence. Jornal de Pediatria.
Reiman, J. M., et al. (2018). Humidity as a non-pharmaceutical intervention for influenza A. PLOS One.
Schuez-Havupalo, L., et al. (2017). Daycare attendance and respiratory tract infections: A prospective birth cohort study. BMJ Open.
Tenforde, M. W., et al. (2023). Influenza vaccine effectiveness against influenza A–Associated emergency department, urgent care, and hospitalization encounters among US adults, 2022–2023. The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
To, K. K. W., et al. (2019). Saliva as a diagnostic specimen for testing respiratory virus by a point-of-care molecular assay: A diagnostic validity study. Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
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