The school year tends to bring on a lot of illness in kids, which can also spread to the rest of the family. This is because of the fact that kids tend to have bad habits when it comes to hygiene and they are placed in close proximity with their sick peers. Here are four tips to help you avoid an illness during this school year:

1. ​Get the Flu Shot: The best way to protect against the most contagious strain of the flu, getting a flu shot is the best bet. Of course, this doesn't discredit getting the flu completely since it only protects against one strand, it can still easily prevent it from spreading since you are protecting against the most contagious form. You can even call your local urgent care facility to see if they can set up an appointment for you and your family to get the flu shot. 
2. ​Teach Good Habits: Since kids have poor hygiene habits just out of nature, it's important you teach them the right way. Otherwise, your family is definitely more prone to illness. Enforce hand washing after using the bathroom, before eating, and when you get home from being out. You also want to discourage your kids from putting things in their mouths, which is done out of boredom, such as putting the end of their pencil in their mouth or their fingers. Teach them why doing these things is bad for their health. The more they know, then the more likely they are going to remember why these things should and should not be done. 
3. Teach Good Behavior: When it comes to interacting with kids at school, you want to be sure that your kids know how to behave, not only to treat kids nicely, but also to discourage the spreading of germs. This means not sharing water bottles, not sharing anything that has been put in their mouth, such as their pencil, and not touching faces. Touching faces is the easiest way to spread germs because the face has many vulnerabilities, such as the nose, eyes, and mouth. This also means not touching their own face, either. 
4. Stock Up on Hand Sanitizer: Finally, you should send your child to school with hand sanitizer. It's important that they use this whenever they need to wash their hands, but don't have access to soap, such as when the soap dispenser runs out in the bathroom or when they don't have access to a sink, such as while in class. 

When you consider these four tips, you are much less likely to have your family getting sick this school year or at least not as often.