If you love going to events with your family, especially if they involve other members of your family like cousins who live on the other side of the country or grandparents who are normally in assisted living facilities, you’ll want to make sure that nothing stands in your way from having a great time at these events. But sadly for many families with young kids, sickness can take out everyone in your home in the blink of an eye and cause you to cancel all sorts of plans. And while you can’t avoid all germs and illnesses all of the time, there are things you can do to help reduce the spread of germs to your family when you want everyone to be healthy and enjoy something fun together.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three ways to avoid getting sick when attending family events with your kids.

Teach Everyone About Personal Hygiene

Something that you should stress to every member of your family as well as anyone that you’re going to be spending time with at the event is personal hygiene, especially handwashing.

When you and your family wash your hands well and often, you can help to reduce the amount of germs that come in contact with your eyes, nose, and mouth, which is how a lot of illnesses are spread. So before your kids eat anything, make sure that they are washing their hands well.

Don’t Get Close To People Who Are Sick

Because you can’t control other people and trust them to stay away from you and your family if and when they are sick, you have to take steps on your own to steer clear of people at your event that you fear are sick and could spread their sickness to you and your family. So if you notice some of the tell-tale signs of sickness in someone at the event you’re attending with your family, try not to get too close to this person if you can help it.

Steer Clear Of Communal Toys

There are certain surfaces that can hold onto germs for a very long time, which can make them particularly good at making people sick if they touch those items.

Especially for kids, who love to touch their faces and get sick that way, it might be a good idea for you and your family to steer clear of communal toys. By bringing your own toys and other activities to the events that you attend, you can ensure that the germs your kids are being exposed to are the ones that they’ve already seen at home rather than new germs being introduced to them by who knows how many other kids.

If you want to avoid having your kids get sick when attending family events, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you in these efforts.