Cough, Sniffle, Repeat!

Q

My children always seem to pass around illnesses during the fall season. It seems like one of them is always home from school due to illness. Do you have any ideas for having a healthy and happy 2025–2026 school year or jump-starting their immune systems for the school year?

A

Children under age 6 and school-age children typically get between six and twelve illnesses each year, such as colds, respiratory infections, or stomach viruses. In comparison, teens and adults average four to six illnesses a year. These new germs help the immune system learn how to fight off infections.

You asked about “jump-starting” the immune system. While there’s no way to jump-start the immune system like a car battery, you can help reduce the spread of illness and support your children’s immune health in the following ways:

1. Teach good hygiene habits. Instruct your children to cover their coughs and to cough or sneeze into their elbows. Encourage frequent handwashing, especially after coughing, sneezing, or touching their noses.
2. Maintain a balanced diet. Offer meals that include fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. Vitamin E, found in peanut butter, and vitamin C, found in fruit, help support the immune system. Foods such as chicken, salmon, tuna, bananas, green vegetables, and potatoes with skin provide vitamin B6. If your child is a picky eater, try blending vegetables into spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, or smoothies.
3. Disinfect frequently touched surfaces. Clean doorknobs, light switches, and other commonly touched areas with a disinfectant cleaner.
4. Encourage hydration. Keep healthy beverages visible in the refrigerator or on the kitchen counter, and remind your children to drink throughout the day.

Reduce stress. High stress levels can increase the risk of catching a cold or respiratory illness. Teach your children healthy ways to manage stress. Techniques might include naming three things they can see, three things they can hear, and three body parts they can feel or move. Another option is to practice slow breathing: inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth.

I hope these suggestions help reduce the number of illnesses your children experience this school year and lead to a happier, healthier household.

Betty Richardson, PhD, RN, CS, LPC, LMFT, is an Austin-based psychotherapist.