Lunch on the Linoleum?

No one's floors are clean enough to eat off of, and once food hits the floor, it shouldn't go into your child's mouth.

Germs are everywhere. Luckily, as Dr. Jen points out in Good Kids, Bad Habits, 95 percent of them are harmless. Problem is, you never know where the harmful ones are lurking. Oftentimes, it's on the floor. The most frequently encountered bugs -- Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, and E. coli, among others -- trigger nausea and diarrhea. Shaking or blowing on whatever you've dropped -- food, a pacifier, a teething ring -- won't help. Give a dropped pacifier or teething toy a run through the dishwasher. And where food is concerned, when in doubt, throw it out.

Washing, cooling, and refrigerating food helps remove the bacteria clinging to it. But the precautions don't stop there. Kids must learn to wash their hands before digging in and learn not to pick up food that has fallen from their plates. Teaching kids Dr. Jen's six steps to clean hands from Good Kids, Bad Habits will lower their risk of infection.

6 Steps to Clean Hands

One in three boys and one in five girls don't wash their hands after using the restroom. A quick rinse doesn't count. Teach them how to do it right:

1. Wet hands with warm water.
2. Use enough soap to form a visible lather.
3. Scrub backs and fronts of hands, between fingers, and under nails for at least 15 seconds (the time it takes to recite the alphabet or sing "Happy Birthday").
4. Rinse well in warm, running water.
5. Dry thoroughly with a clean towel.
6. Turn off the faucet using a paper towel when using a public restroom -- lots of germs lurk there.

And keep an alcohol-based hand sanitizer in the car, in your purse, and in your school-age child's backpack. In one study, families who used sanitizing gels cut the spread of tummy troubles among family members by more than half.