ABC/Eric McCandless
(LOS ANGELES) — Any parent understands just how many germs their little ones are capable of bringing home. Hilary Duff says she’s battled through several sick days, herself.
Speaking to Pure Wow, the Lizzie McGuire star reveals she and husband Matthew Koma have developed several parenting hacks to “defend ourselves against our kids because they’re like Petri dishes.”
Duff says the first plan of attack is preventing germs from spreading between her two kids, seven-year-old Luca and one-year-old Banks Violet.
When it comes to Luca, she’s teaching him “not get all up in his sister’s face right away” the second he comes home from school.
Adding with a laugh, she says it’s easier said than done for her son because “he wants to just have his hands all over her and he’s obsessed with her, which is so great.” But, she still has to remind him to give his one-year-old sibling “some space.”
During that time, Duff assesses whether or not Luca managed to bring something home with him. On the days he does, the 32-year-old makes sure he doesn’t spread it to his classmates the next day.
“If my kid is sick, they’re not going to class,” she tells Pure Wow. “I really believe that rest is so important.”
However, getting her son to willingly take a nap can be a battle because “the word nap is like a four-letter word to a 7-year-old.”
Duff says she also bakes and watches movies with her kids during sick days, but that does wear her out.
“Wrestling a little one to wipe her nose all day is a lot,” She adds. “But those days are your badges of honor and make you feel like Super Woman when you’re finished.”
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