It is important to explain to your children how germs spread. Teaching your children basic hygiene and leading by example is the first step in preventing your child from catching a cold or the flu. Teach them to sneeze in to a tissue and make sure they put their hand up when they cough. It’s important that they also wash their hands after sneezing and coughing. They must also wash their hands before helping to prepare food or sitting down to eat. Hand sanitizer is also available for the times when you can’t wash their hands. Good habits mean you can minimise spreading germs and be a healthy family this winter.

Encouraging healthy eating habits is also a must for parents to teach their children. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is a great way to help prevent the flu. Make sure that they drink plenty of water and get a daily dose of vitamin C. Also getting plenty of exercise and sunshine will help them to build a strong immune system making it harder for them to get the flu or the common cold.

There are three types of flu to watch out for. Type A is the most serious and causes the most serious epidemics. Type B is a milder form and is capable of causing epidemics but not as likely. Type C is the mildest case and has never caused an epidemic.

A good immune system is key to not catching a cold or the flu. However, if it happens and the condition worsens seeing a doctor is always a good idea. Though there is no cure known to man for the common cold, a doctor can recommend ways to make your little one comfortable for the duration.

Giving children household chores is a sure way to teach them that they must be responsible for certain things. Don’t overwhelm them with chores of course. Just simple little things such as tidying their toys up is a great start, and they can never to be too young to do this.

Encouraging your children to keep their commitments is a must in teaching them to be responsible. If your child makes a play date or decides to play on the local football team, make sure that they follow through. Letting them quit or change their mind can make them think it’s okay to break commitments.

Hold your child accountable for their own actions. In other words don’t let them blame others for things that they have done such as not giving in homework or failing to do a chore. As they get older, they will realise that the blame game will not help them in life. Teach it early and they will be better for it.

Let your child help take care of their pets. Even a toddler can help to water and feed the cat or dog. Increase pet duties as they get older though not by overwhelming them with too much at once. Start small and work your way up to the bigger things.

The most important thing in teaching your children to be responsible at an early age in my opinion is to be a good role model. Don’t follow the saying “do as I say, not as I do.” All you are asking for is trouble. If you set a good example for your children such as always being on time or picking up after yourself then there is a greater chance that they will follow your lead. Remember children mimic their elders. If they see you throw litter, they will follow suit. If they see you lie to someone to avoid a commitment, chances are they will do the same. Teach your child early on that you are responsible and they will be to. Do it lovingly and with patience and you will be pleased at the responsible adults they become.

Let your child know that there is a place for everything and everything has a place. It is an old saying but also a very true one. Having a place for their toys and other things in their room will help tremendously with a child’s organisation and encourage them to be tidy later in life.

Stick to your guns when you tell your child to do something. If you tell them to clean their room and they say they’re busy playing or watching TV make them stop the activity and get the job done. Persist until they stop what they’re doing and tidy up.

It’s easier to tidy as you go. Make sure they put their dirty clothes in the wash basket at the end of each day, rather than leaving them on their bedroom floor all week. When they want to get a new toy out of the toy cupboard, make sure they put the last toy away first.

Make cleaning a part of everyday life. Don’t make your child make his bed one day then let him skip the next. Don’t take his plate to the sink one night then make him do it the next night. In other words be consistent. If you making cleaning a routine thing for them it will become second nature and they will do it without thinking about it pretty soon.

The biggest thing to do when teaching your children to clean up is to praise them for it. A reward is always a good way to encourage them to clean. Make it known, however, that the reward or allowance is not something you have to do. They are expected to clean up after themselves regardless and to do it on a daily basis. However, giving them a small allowance or an ice cream treat on Friday after a week of cleaning the way they should will go a long way towards getting them to do it for you again. Taking away a treat or the allowance is also a firm but loving way to show them that you mean business and being slack will not be tolerated.

Try dressing up the food that your little one is eating. Toddlers want food to be fun. A smiley face, colourful food, or a different shaped food can distract your toddler from the fact that it’s healthy and actually get them to try something new. Let them eat finger food or try using fun cutlery or even adult’s cutlery to encourage them.

Try to serve a good variety of food rather than the same old thing. If your child doesn’t like something new, don’t rule it out, just try again in a few weeks time. Get your child to help choose new fruits and vegetables at the supermarket so they will become excited about trying them.

Don’t ever make a toddler eat something that they don’t like. It can give them an aversion to that particular food for a lifetime even into adult hood. Instead try the food a little on down the road. After all your tastes change, your toddlers will to. Eat the same dish as your child, they will be encouraged by watching you eat.

Often toddlers will push food away without even trying it. You can disguise healthy vegetables in a pasta sauce, use whole grain pasta instead of white pasta and add pieces of fruit to yogurt. This way you ensure your child has a healthy diet without them even realising.

Let your toddler help in the kitchen. It is much easier to get a child to eat something if they helped to prepare it. As well as taking your toddler shopping with you, get them involved in the preparation. Let them do the stirring, pouring, and sprinkling. The mess will be worth it in the long run.

The one thing you want to avoid is a fight at every mealtime about what your toddler will and won’t eat. Try something new along with the favorite foods and do insist that your toddler tries it. If they say they don’t like it, don’t push them. Just try it again later.

You may want to start by explaining the origins of Halloween to your children. Halloween originated from Irish Celts which is still celebrated in Ireland, the UK and particularly USA today. There are many different traditions that Halloween customs are rooted in. The main traditions being in Christian Origins but having traditions in Samhain as well.

Explain that as the tradition of Halloween spread the church decided to make Nov. 1 All Saints Day in honor of the saints who did not have their own holiday. The night before it was then dubbed as All Hallows Eve.

Make sure to discuss the origins of the all-important trick or treating with them. The tradition is said to have started in a couple of ways. One of them being that on All Souls Day early Christians would go door to door begging for “soul cakes” and offering up a prayer for the givers soul in return. The wearing of masks is said to have come from Samhains day when the partiers would put on mask that were supposed to represent the dead and go from house to house collecting food that was meant for the departed souls. Try and explain this in a way that isn’t scary to young children but gets the point across about the traditions of different cultures.

It is also helpful to explain where the tradition of wearing a costume came from. There are many fearful people in the world even today. There were many more in olden times. It is said that the line between the living and the dead is weakest on Halloween letting the spirits cross over to our side of the world. Many people started wearing costumes to keep from the spirits recognizing them as being among the living.

A fun thing to share with the youngsters who are asking questions is the history of the jack-o-lantern. Jack-o-lanterns were actually turnips not pumpkins and it is said that the tradition originated with a man named Jack who had tricked the devil. He was condemned to walking the earth in the darkness as he was barred from both heaven and hell. He had only one coal to light his way. This is the reason why we put candles in pumpkins to this day.

You can celebrate Halloween with your children in a fun way by helping them to carve out a pumpkin and to dress up.