It is heartbreaking to see your little ones suffering and sick instead of running around expending youthful energy. The good news is that with a bit of prevention, you can help keep them happy and healthy.

Your kids are exposed to other people's germs in many ways, but taking some simple precautions decrease your child's chances of picking up a cold or flu virus.

• Toy sharing: If you taught your child to share, explain that germs can travel on toys and that they should wash their hands after touching other children’s during cold season.
• Hand washing: Germs love travelling from hands to nose, eyes and mouth. Instill the value of hand washing.
• Dress for the weather: During the colder months, long sleeves and jackets should be the rule. Remind your children to dress warmly with sticky notes on the dresser or inside the front door.
• Have a sick plan: When your little one does get sick during the day, have a plan to know who is picking them up and where they will stay. Have a backup plan too. Make sure you and your children know the drill before they fall ill.

Sometimes the best way to keep your kids healthy is to band together with the other adults in their lives and make a plan. Here are five questions to ask your child's teacher:

• Do the kids share cups? Sharing cups is a recipe for a classroom of sick children.
• How sick does a child have to be before being sent home? Will the teacher let a child stay in the classroom no matter how sick? Find out the limits to what the teacher (or school rules) will tolerate in class.
• Are all the children trained to cover their mouths when they sneeze?
• Does the teacher wipe the shared school supplies with an antibacterial cloth after group usage?
• If a parent cannot pick up a sick child, is the child sent back to or do they stay in the nurse's office until a parent can come?

If your child's teacher or day-care worker seems overwhelmed or unprepared for cold and flu season, offer to help. If you have the time, stop in and wipe down the toys when you pick up your child. Also, communicate with other parents — a community effort is much more effective in keeping kids healthy.