With cold and flu season in full swing, sniffles, coughs, and sneezes are all around us in early childhood education and care settings. According to Staying Healthy in Childcare, simple hygiene practices like handwashing, coughing or sneezing into an elbow or tissue, and promptly disposing of used tissues, are key to keeping germs at bay.
But let’s face it, encouraging young children to adopt these habits can be a challenge at times! Here are four fun, and engaging ways to teach kids cough and sneeze etiquette to keep those germs at bay.
1. Bust a move to catch those germs
Children love to dance, so why not make hygiene a groove-friendly lesson?
Teach them to “dab” their coughs and sneezes—tucking one elbow to their face while striking a pose with the other arm. It’s a cool move that doubles as a germ-blocking trick!
How to do it: Crank up a child-friendly tune and lead a dance party where everyone practices the dab when they “sneeze.” Create colorful posters with cartoon characters dabbing to remind kids to cover up. This fun activity reinforces elbow-coughing while keeping the energy high.
2. Use a rhyme to keep etiquette top of mind
Rhyming is a great technique for helping us to remember information. This simple rhyme can help children remember to avoid coughing into their hand.
Catch that sneeze, don’t let it roam,
Use your elbow, keep germs at home!
Cough or sneeze, don’t let them fly,
Trap those germs, wave them goodbye!
Need more melodic inspiration? Try ‘The Germ Stopping Song’ which can be sung to the tune of Row Row Row Your Boat, with a free downloadable poster via Classroom Helpers.
3. End the ah-choo blues with a fun demonstration
In order to demonstrate how and why we must cover our mouths when sneezing, and how germs can spread from one little sneeze, you can create an engaging demonstration using a paper plate and spray bottle.
Step 1: Take a paper plate and make a face, cut a small hole for the nose.
Step 2: Attach a water spray bottle with water and poke it through the hole.
Step 3: Invite children to gather around and do a little role play to make their new ‘friend’ sneeze. Talk about how the water represents the germs spreading and how far the droplets can go. Spray the water again but put your arm up to cover the droplets and ask the children what was different/better this time.
Remind children after that they should try to sneeze into their arm and to always wash their hands afterwards.
4. Get crafty to showcase tissue techniques and supplement storytelling
After explaining the benefits of sneezing and coughing into an elbow, it may be helpful to teach children the benefits of using a tissue and the importance of throwing it in the bin afterwards.This could be done by demonstration or storytelling.
One idea could be to supplement reading a book such as Germs are Not for Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick with a crafty resource such as a paper plate face and hand, which can be created by an educator and left in the library area as a reminder for children and to be used along with the book the next time it’s read. The below image shows examples of 'nose blowing' craft created by preschool children via the Minirelli blog.
Source: Minirelli blog
Wondering what the recommendations are around exclusions?
In relation to exclusions on the basis of respiratory symptoms (cough, runny or blocked nose, sore throat), the Staying Healthy 6th edition has a great table and resources to use as a reference (see page 78 for the below table).
(Source: Staying Healthy 6th edition)
The Staying Healthy guide also provides the following scenario example (pg.78):
Scenario 4.3
Kai, a child in the kinder room, has a runny nose and is not engaged with the morning lesson. He eats lunch and then says he is really tired and would like to have a nap. Kai does not normally have a nap during the day. When he lies down for a nap, he starts coughing.
Points to consider:
- Kai is not behaving like his usual self.
- Kai is eating and drinking normally.
- Kai has several respiratory symptoms including a runny nose and appears significantly more tired than usual.
You call Kai’s parents and get through to his mum, who says she can come to collect him in 20 minutes.
Points to discuss with Kai’s mum:
- his symptoms – runny nose, severe tiredness and cough
- exclusion recommendations based on his symptoms.
When Kai’s mum arrives, you provide the Respiratory symptoms fact sheet and explain that he can return to the service after his concerning symptom (severe tiredness) has resolved.
Further reading
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Community Early Learning Australia is a not for profit organisation with a focus on amplifying the value of early learning for every child across Australia - representing our members and uniting our sector as a force for quality education and care.