How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Little Ones: 5 Must-Haves for Your Family

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It’s here. The season is upon us.

Dun dun dun…!

Now is the time we hear adults and children alike hacking away, blowing noses, and sneezing incessantly.

Yuck.

If your house is anything like ours, it is time to begin what will be approximately four months of passing sicknesses around the house like a hot potato.

This is especially true if you have your children in any sort of childcare.

Whether it be a quick stint at the gym childcare so you can fit in a workout, or a five day a week school system, your little cherub is going to swap germs with a fellow mucusy munchkin.

And once your little one is sick, you will be sick. Lucky you.

And when a mama gets sick, we get a break to rest and recover nothing changes.

Moms must trudge on. We don't get sick days!

So what can we do? How can we survive until March?

I got you, mama. Here are 5 must-haves to prevent and treat sickness so that you and your family can survive cold and flu season!

How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Little Ones: 5 Must-Haves for Your Family

1 – Fun water bottle

Hydration is super important to keeping your body working optimally.

We need fluids to flush out illness, encourage better focus and concentration, maintain energy levels, and transport nutrients and oxygen to our bodies’ organs and cells.

But the reality is sometimes kids aren’t as good of drinkers as we’d like.

Heck, sometimes we aren’t as good of water drinkers as we should be.

A new and novel water bottle is the ticket to ensuring your sweetie and you are topped up on fluids both to prevent sickness and to help you all recover quicker.

Here are my recommendations:

• For the kids: Camelback

• For us grown-ups (bonus is that this water bottle makes us hip and cool à la #VSCOgirl. If you don’t know what that is yet, it’s basically us in the 90s but more eco conscious): Hydroflask

2 – A multivitamin with probiotics

Every morning we give our kiddos a multivitamin that has probiotics in it. 

It is widely known that kiddos often don’t eat enough of a variety of foods to get all the beneficial nutrients and vitamins that their growing bodies need.

A multivitamin is an easy way to help round out their nutrition.

But why a probiotic?

A probiotic is important for everyone but especially littles ones who are more susceptible to sickness. It will put good bacteria into your children’s systems to help fight off any bad bacteria they may be battling.

Cold and flu season is no joke, and anything we can do to prevent illness or shorten its duration is key!

The children’s multivitamin with probiotic that is SUPER EASY to get our kids to take is a GUMMY!

I am also a big fan of gummy vitamins, and look forward to mine every day. And because I’m an adult, I get two per serving! #momwin!

My multivitamin is the same brand as the kiddos’ is, but it’s formulated for me!

And my husband takes the men’s multivitamin too!

3 – Nose Frida

I’m really digging all the Frida Baby and Frida Mama products! They are simple, clever, and effective!

The Nose Frida is one of their top selling items! At first glance it sounds disgusting, but I promise it’s not. 

You place the opening of the tube against your child’s nostril, and you suck from the mouthpiece at the other end.

Don’t worry, it’s impossible for the boogies to make it to your mouth by their ingenious design.

The boogies stay in the front of the receptacle.

They don’t even come anywhere near the spongy filter!!

We have definitely gotten our money’s worth from the Nose Frida. I think it works way better than the classic bulb aspirator.

And to be honest, the kids are somewhat interested in the whole snot sucking process because of its science-project appearance and they actually tolerate it quite well!

4 – Boogie Wipes

Even with the Nose Frida to help loosen up and remove the gunk in your sweetheart’s nose, some mucus will inevitably be hanging out on their upper lip.

Wiping up boogies with a regular tissue can make noses so sore and skin chap in a season that’s already dry and cold. 

Enter: Boogie Wipes

Boogie Wipes are a moist towelette that is so much more comfortable for your little ones’ sweet noses.

Plus the wipe’s wetness comes from saline, so it can help break up some of the snot in their noses just by using it!

We regularly have a pack of these bad boys with us. And I highly recommend to buy a multipack!

5 – Chest Rub

There are many different brands with varying ingredients, but no matter your preference, you’ll be happy to have a chest rub.

As you well know, no doubt, those darn coughs can just linger!!

Even after it seems like a cold has passed, the night time can draw out a heavy cough. 

One chest rub that we have tried and recommend is Zarbees. This brand is great because they can be counted on to be natural and effective.

Note: The chest rub below is for babies ages 2 months and up.

Another great chest rub is the classic tried and true: Vicks.

Note: They have different formulas for different ages. The BabyRub below is for ages 3 months and up.

In case you aren’t aware what a chest rub does, the different scents and essential oils in these types of ointments can support easy breathing, for your kiddo and you!

Putting a chest rub on your child as they fall asleep helps you feel like you’ve done all you can to help your child (and yourself!) have a good night’s sleep.

No one likes to deal with the sicknesses the season brings, but if you have these five items in your arsenal, you’ll be more prepared and better equipped to get through these next four months pretty much unscathed. 

And remember, if you and your kiddos are down for the count, take it easy.

Plan some low-key activities, or heck, maybe even a day of movies. Once in a while won’t hurt!

Best of luck!