It seems like cold and flu season is spreading faster than the vaccines that supposedly prevent the infectious bugs. One afternoon while I waited outside my daughter’s class I heard child after child come out to their parent with frightening reports, “We had three kids go home sick today and three others that were absent.” Others walked like zombies in backpacks and would likely go home and report that they weren’t feeling so hot, either.

Since I’m sure I’m not the only parent on the planet who dislikes sickness in the home, I’m launching a weekly series, “The War on Germs,” for the next few weeks. Over the next few weeks, I’ll post the best ways you can prevent illness from striking the four walls of your home.

First of all, keep everyone’s hands clean. This is the best way to prevent these germs from infecting your household. Check out the link below from “Good Morning America” last week. This great segment answered the question, “Which is better at killing germs: handwashing or using hand sanitizer?”

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/ConsumerNews/washing-hands-soap-hand-sanitizer/story?id=8941662

Stock up on the best. My favorite hand sanitizers come from Bath and Body Works, which offers sanitizers made of 60 percent alcohol (which the study shows are most effective at killing germs) in a wide variety of scents. They come in travel sizes so I stash them in the car, in my purse, and dole them out to my children for school.

Wash more often. Every time my kids ask for a snack (which is every half hour I think) I promise to honor their request as soon as they’ve washed their hands. They are always hungry the minute they walk in the door so it’s a great time to wash away all of those germs picked up from door knobs, shopping carts, and other public places.

Wash longer. This one is trickier unless you actually go in and watch them wash up. There’s no way I have time to micro-manage each hand wash, so I try to just listen for the water. But my kids like most, and tend to wash like this: 1) wet hands, 2) lather up and rinse simultaneously. The problem is it’s not very effective. We’ve tried singing cute songs like, “Wash, wash, wash your hands. Scrub them nice and clean…” or “ABC’s,” or “Happy Birthday.” All of these little gimmicks work but the kids need constant reminders. I try to use positive reinforcement and hope that the praise spreads faster than the germs.

Question: How do you get your kids to wash their hands more often?