Healthy Habits: Moms Against Cooties

When I hear "cooties" I think of elementary and middle school kids and "cootie shots." But there's actually a group called Moms Against Cooties that focuses on how to best avoid bringing home sicknesses from daycares. You can visit the website, or the Moms Against Cooties Facebook page, or follow @MomsVSCooties on Twitter to get tips and information like these shared here:

- One study showed that children two years old and younger put their hands or other objects into their mouths an average of 81 times per hour. (This rate drops to 42 times per hour for children older than two.)
- Researchers found the flu virus on more than half of inanimate surfaces in homes and daycare centers during flu season and viruses and bacteria are known to survive for days on these surfaces.
- According to the National Association for Sick Child Daycare, working mothers are absent from their jobs from 5 to 29 days per year caring for ill children – costing employers up to $12 billion annually.
- Proper daycare disinfection kills bacteria without promoting bacterial resistance.