We continuously promote good hygiene in school but good hygiene at home is just as important because it helps to prevent your child from picking up an infection and missing school through illness. It also reduces the risk of germs spreading round your home and making other family members ill.

Handwashing is one of the main ways infections spread and now more than ever it is important we teach children how to wash their hands correctly.

Here are some other ways you and your family can help reduce infection risks and stay healthy. It is good to start discussing these with children and help them understand the reasons we do them.

• Have a bath or shower every day if possible to help remove the germs and stale sweat that cause body odour.

• Brush your teeth twice a day, including just before you go to bed to remove the germs and plaque that cause tooth decay.

• Wash and comb or brush your hair regularly.

• Check children’s hair regularly for head lice using a fine-toothed lice comb.

• Keep nails short and clean.

• Change socks, tights and underclothes daily.

• Regularly change and launder all clothing.

• Regularly launder towels, flannels and bed linen.

• Use tissues to wipe your nose and to cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

• Put your used tissues in a bin and wash your hands afterwards.

• Never spit.

• Keep cuts and abrasions clean and covered.

We can promote safety of our children by also making the home safe and keeping our children safe form physical harm.

Safety is a priority for anyone who regularly takes care of young children. Whether it’s installing stair gates to prevent falls or using electrical socket covers to avoid shocks, every caregiver goes through the process of making their house safer for an adventurous child. One risk that might not be top-of-mind, however, is medicine safety.

For more advice on keeping children and families safe around medicine see Safe Kids Worldwide