In the words of Charles Shubin, M.D. and associate professor of paediatrics at University of Maryland (Baltimore), when your kid comes in this world, he has a completely inexperienced immune system.
The immune system grows and develops only after exposure to germs.
But, the million-dollar question remains, “How to help my child increase the immunity naturally”?
Some of the paediatricians consider that a child undergoing 6 to 8 cold and cough episodes in a year is absolutely normal as the child’s body has never developed immunity towards these germs due to lack of any previous exposure.
However, there are certain ways for sure in which you could develop the immune system of your child naturally.
This will prevent your child from falling sick often and you would be happy to see him growing well.
“A stitch in time saves nine.”
Building a good immune power takes a little effort on a regular basis.
It is a slow process and takes time to give you the desired results.
Building immunity are dependent on two prime factors that are internal and external factors.
Externally, hygiene and cleanliness are the major contributors towards your child’s good health.
In this post, you will come across some really helpful ways for building your child’s immunity that will give you a major respite from your concerns.
How to boost your child’s Immune System
Most moms like you, are concerned for their child’s health and safety.
Seeing your child falling sick often could be extremely taxing on you and your spouse.
Weather changes and specially monsoon weather invites an infinite array of germs and viruses to infect your child.
But the best part is that with certain modifications in your lifestyle and eating habits, you could indeed increase your child’s immunity to a great extent.
Here, is the list of things that will help in boosting your child’s immune system
1. Feed fruits and green leafy vegetables:
Serving fruits and veggies to your child will provide him with all kinds of nourishments like multi vitamins, minerals and micro nutrients.
These nutrients help to build the immunity of the child and also helps to ensure the proper growth of your child.
You should restrict the chocolates and sweets intake of your child to a great extent.
Kids tend to munch these in between leading to a loss of appetite which could have been used to feed them with a fruit or a healthy snack.
2. Make exercise as a routine:
Dr. Ranjit Chandra, a paediatric immunologist, at Memorial University in New found land, quoted that, “Exercise increases the natural killer cells of the body and boosts up the immune system of both adults as well as the kids”.
Urging kids to go out and play should not be encouraged as a practice rather indulge yourself with them and exercise regularly to help them build their killer cells to fight the infection.
3. Avoid passive smoke:
If you or your spouse smokes regularly then please ensure that you don’t do it when your child is around.
This smoke is equally harmful for your child as well.
DO YOU KNOW THAT A CIGARETTE SMOKE CONTAINS 4000 TOXINS WHICH ARE ENOUGH TO IRRITATE THE IMMUNE CELLS OF THE BODY OR TO KILL THEM?
Kids breathe at a faster pace hence this smoke does more harm to your child then to you or your spouse.
A child may end up having bronchitis, asthma, smoke allergies or other breathing disorders and he may also suffer a lack of neurological development.
4. Maintain hygiene in the surroundings
Your child’s safety could be ensured by guarding him well against the germ exposure.
Make sure that you get the floor of your house cleaned well with a disinfectant.
A regular hygiene maintenance is a must.
Make sure your child washes hands properly with a soap before eating. Trim the nails and check his hair regularly to prevent lice infestation and all.
Change the bedsheets regularly and maintain a good bed hygiene.
Serve nutritious and freshly cooked food to your child.
Moreover, carry a hand sanitizer or wipes when you are outside for a quick clean up.
Barbara Rich, Spokesperson, Academy of General Dentistry, suggests that a child cannot get infected from the same flu virus twice.
However, a common source of infection is tooth brushes that can hold the germs for long and can pass it on to other tooth brushes kept closer to it.
Hence, tossing your brush for a new one would prevent the infection from spreading to other family members.
5. Ensure proper sleep
Dr. Kathi Kemper, an M.D., Director of Centre for Holistic Children’s education and Research, in Boston says that lack of sleep in kids can kill the natural immune cells of the body.
It is these cells that help the body to fight with the microbes.
A new born should sleep up to say 18 hours in a day, a toddler is fine with 12 to 14 hours of nap and a pre-schooler should surely have a 10 hours of nap.
Normally, kids who go to day cares are deprived of proper sleep as they have so many activities around that they avoid sleeping in the afternoon.
Just, by ensuring proper sleep you raise the immunity level of your child.
These are some of the ways in which you could surely boost up the immune system of your child naturally.
Avoid feeding them with junk food often, and that will help them to build a better immune system for themselves.
Also, make sure that you transform your lifestyle into a healthy one as kids learn and follow what they see you doing.
It is extremely important to ensure a good and a healthy lifestyle as a family to keep infections at bay on a regular basis.
The learnings and teachings for a kid start from now so make sure you make the best use of this time when you can teach your child everything that you wish him to learn and practice.
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