Boost your kids’ immune health

In this pandemic COVID19 era, people have started to consume foods which can boost their immunity. People have started to practice wearing mask in public, normalize social distancing and some even goes to the extent of not exposing children in public places for the fear of virus spreading. We know that children are even fragile than us adult, thus taking extra care for them especially children who fall sick easily is a must for parents in this COVID19 situation. Here we share with you some tips that you can practice to boost your children immunity system!

 

  • Guard against germ spread.

 

Fighting germs does not technically boost immunity, but it is a great way to reduce stress on your child’s immune system. Make sure your children wash their hands often (with soap) especially before and after using toilet, before and after meals, after playing outside, arrive home from day care, handling pets, or blowing their nose. To cultivate the habits, you may also let them pick up their own choice of handkerchief, soap, and scents!

 

You must also always make sure that your hands are clean before you touch them!

 

Whenever you are bringing them outside make sure you carry antibacterial disposable wet wipes with you for your quick clean ups. Oh, you may also practice to let your children wear face shield if you are outside or in public area if they cannot wear mask yet! Make sure to sanitize or clean the face shield frequently and keep it properly as well!

 

 

Another key germ busting strategy according to health professionals is whenever your child is sick throw away their toothbrush as the germs from outside or from the toothbrush can hop from toothbrush to toothbrush infecting other family members. If it is a bacterial infection, such as strep throat, your child can reinfect themselves with the same germs that got them sick in the first place. In that case, tossing the toothbrush protects both your child and the rest of your family.

 

  • Make sure your children eat healthily.

 

It is normal for kids to dislike healthy foods if the parents dislike it, or rarely consume it! If you feel like your children eating habit are more into unhealthy habit check back your food preference most of the times it is a reflection!

 

Try to eat healthily as much as you can, make sure that every main mealtime there is vegetables and fruit serve for your whole family, it can be just a simple blanched carrot and broccoli, or it can be stir fried vegetables or it can be simply raw salad with dressings! If your children are okay with consuming vegetables and fruits in every main mealtime, start introducing healthy snacks using fruits and vegetables as well.

 

 

They may eat cakes, biscuits, and dessert occasionally still! If your children are still below 6 months young, try to breastfeed them as much as you can, as breastmilk has naturals antibody which is passed from mothers to baby which is beneficial for children during this pandemic situation.

 

Apart from vegetables and fruits, consuming yogurt which contains high amount of probiotics and prebiotics also helps with immune health.

 

  •  Boost sleep time!

 

Studies show that sleep deprivation make individuals more susceptible to illness by reducing natural killer cells (immune-system weapons that attack microbes and cancer cells). Required sleeping hours for children is vary according to their age, but on average children need to nap during the day for at least one hour and sleep throughout the night for at least 10 hours.

 

Try to help your children into having a fixed routine helps with their sleeping time. Try to tone down screen time and makes them do a lot of physical activity in the evening also helps with sleeping earlier during the night. Children who does not nap during the day may sleep even earlier at night according to expert, but still nap is important for children, which is why try to cultivate habits which makes them easier to nap during the day. This will not only be beneficial for their immunity but as well as for their growth and development.

 

 

References.

  1. 7 Ways to Boost Immunity for your child’s Immunity. https://www.parents.com/health/cold-flu/cold/boost-childs-immunity/ (Accessed on Feb 15, 2021).
  1. Cleveland Clinic. Health Essentials. How to boost your kids’ immunity heading into the new school year. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-boost-your-kids-immunity-heading-into-the-new-school-year/ (Accessed on Feb 15, 2021).
  2. Grow by WebMD. Immunity bosting snacks for kids. https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/immune-system#1 (Accessed on Feb 15, 2021).