Any parent understands just how many germs their little ones are capable of bringing home. Hilary Duff said 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, 7-year-old Luca and 1-year-old Banks Violet.

When it comes to Luca, she's teaching him to "not get all up in his sister’s face right away" the second he comes home from school.

Of course that'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," she said. But she still has to remind him to give his 1-year-old sibling "some space."

Duff, 32, will also keep Luca at home if he's not feeling well.

"If my kid is sick, they’re not going to class," she said in the interview. "I really believe that rest is so important."

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," she added.

Duff said 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 said. "But those days are your badges of honor and make you feel like Super Woman when you’re finished.”