Flu Season Playbook: Keeping Your Children Healthy This Winter

By The Redeemer Sports

Practice schedules do not pause for cold and flu season. Between school, sports, and everything else, children spend the winter months in exactly the places respiratory viruses love: crowded rooms, shared equipment, and close contact.

Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses, and it can cause mild to severe illness – at times it can lead to death. Children commonly need medical care because of flu, especially children younger than 5 years old: the CDC estimates that flu-related hospitalizations among children under 5 have ranged from 6,000 to 25,000 annually in the United States.

The good news is that the playbook for a healthier season is short and well proven. Here is what the CDC recommends, from vaccination to the warning signs no parent should wait on.

Key takeaways

• Vaccinate every year: The CDC recommends a flu vaccine every season for everyone 6 months and older, with rare exceptions.
• Young children carry extra risk: Children younger than 5, especially under 2, and children of any age with chronic conditions like asthma or diabetes are at higher risk of serious flu complications. Flu hospitalizations among children under 5 have ranged from 6,000 to 25,000 a year in the US.
• Flu hits suddenly: Fever or chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, and fatigue usually come on fast.
• Some signs mean get care now: Fast or troubled breathing, bluish lips or face, dehydration, or a fever above 104F that fever-reducing medicine does not control are on the CDC’s emergency list for children.
• Return when truly ready: Children should be fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine, with symptoms improving overall, before heading back to school or sports.

The first line: a yearly flu vaccine

The CDC’s recommendation is simple and broad: everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every season, with rare exceptions. The agency notes vaccination is particularly important for people at higher risk of serious flu complications.

That higher-risk group includes exactly the children this article is about. Children younger than 5 years old – especially children younger than 2 – and children of any age with certain chronic health conditions, like asthma and diabetes, are at higher risk of developing potentially serious flu complications. If your child is in one of those groups, the yearly shot is not a formality.

Know what flu actually looks like

Flu symptoms usually come on suddenly, which is one of the clearest ways it differs from an ordinary cold. Per the CDC, people with flu often feel some or all of these:

• Fever or feeling feverish and chills
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue

Most people who get flu recover in a few days to less than two weeks. But some develop complications: sinus and ear infections are examples of moderate complications, while pneumonia is a serious one. Flu can also trigger inflammation of the heart (myocarditis), brain (encephalitis), or muscle tissues, and multi-organ failure in severe cases. Anyone can get sick with flu, even healthy people, and serious problems can happen at any age.

The emergency warning signs no parent should wait on

The CDC publishes a specific list of emergency warning signs of flu complications in children. These mean get medical care right away:

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish lips or face
• Ribs pulling in with each breath
• Chest pain
• Severe muscle pain (the child refuses to walk)
• Dehydration – no urine for 8 hours, dry mouth, no tears when crying
• Not alert or interacting when awake
• Seizures
• Fever above 104 degrees Fahrenheit that is not controlled by fever-reducing medicine
• In children younger than 12 weeks, any fever
• Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen

Save this list somewhere you can find it at 2 a.m. That is usually when you will need it.

Everyday defense: handwashing and habits

The CDC calls handwashing with soap one of the best ways to stay healthy. The technique matters: scrub hands for at least 20 seconds. For children, that is roughly the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice – a timer they will actually follow.

Build the habit around the day’s natural breaks: when children get home from school or practice, before meals, and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing their nose. Combine it with the everyday basics we covered in Healthy Habits for Children: Movement, Sleep, and Food – good sleep and good food are quiet defenders all winter.

When to keep them home (and when they can go back)

Staying home when sick lowers the risk of spreading infections to teammates and classmates, per the CDC’s school health guidance. In general, children with improving symptoms should be able to participate in school – the question is timing.

The CDC’s markers for returning: the child has not had a fever, and is not using fever-reducing medicine, for at least 24 hours, and respiratory virus symptoms are getting better overall for at least 24 hours. Apply the same rule to sports. Sending a player back to practice one day early risks both the child’s recovery and the whole team’s season. For more on balancing your child’s season with their health, see The Sports Parent’s Playbook.

The bottom line

Flu season is manageable with a short list: a yearly vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, honest attention to sudden symptoms, a clear-eyed read on the emergency warning signs, real handwashing, and patience before returning to school or play. None of it is complicated. All of it works better when it is done early.

A clinician’s note: Children with chronic conditions – asthma and diabetes are the CDC’s examples – face higher risk from flu and deserve a lower threshold for calling the doctor, and antiviral treatment works best when started early. When in doubt, call your child’s clinician sooner rather than later, and treat the emergency warning signs above as a reason to seek care immediately, not to watch and wait.

Frequently asked questions

Does my child really need a flu shot every year?

Yes, per the CDC: everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every season, with rare exceptions. The recommendation repeats annually because the vaccine is updated for the viruses expected each season, and it is particularly important for people at higher risk of serious complications – a group that includes children younger than 5, especially under 2.

How is flu different from a common cold?

Timing and intensity are the big tells. The CDC notes flu symptoms usually come on suddenly – fever or chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, and fatigue. A cold tends to build gradually and stay milder. Flu can also lead to serious complications like pneumonia, which is why it deserves more respect than a sniffle.

When can my child go back to school or practice?

The CDC’s guidance: at least 24 hours with no fever and no fever-reducing medicine, plus respiratory symptoms improving overall for at least 24 hours. Both conditions matter. A child who is fever-free only because of medication is still contagious and still sick.

Is flu really dangerous for a healthy, athletic child?

It can be. The CDC is direct that anyone can get sick with flu, even healthy people, and serious problems related to flu can happen to anyone at any age. Flu-related hospitalizations among children under 5 have ranged from 6,000 to 25,000 annually in the United States, and possible serious complications include pneumonia and inflammation of the heart, brain, or muscle tissues.

Sources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Flu Vaccines (everyone 6 months and older, every season, with rare exceptions; vaccination particularly important for higher-risk people): https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines/index.html
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Flu and Young Children (children under 5, especially under 2, and children with chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes at higher risk; 6,000 to 25,000 annual flu hospitalizations in children under 5): https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/children.htm
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Signs and Symptoms of Flu (sudden symptom onset; symptom list; complications; emergency warning signs in children): https://www.cdc.gov/flu/signs-symptoms/index.html
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, About Handwashing (handwashing with soap one of the best ways to stay healthy; scrub at least 20 seconds): https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/about/index.html
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Staying Home When Sick (fever-free at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine; symptoms improving overall at least 24 hours): https://www.cdc.gov/children-and-school-preparedness/infection-prevention/when-sick.html

Source pages retrieved November 4, 2026.

This article is for education only and is not medical advice. It summarizes CDC guidance for the general public and may not reflect your child’s individual health needs. Talk with your child’s clinician about vaccination, symptoms, and care decisions, and seek immediate medical care for the emergency warning signs listed above.