Once your child starts school or a cheche, chances are that he or she would come down with infections often. If this is the case with your child, then it’s time to boost your child’s immune system. Here are 7 ways to boost your child’s immune system.
1. Revisit Vitamins C And E
You’ve probably heard the immune system’s love for vitamins; well, here’s the confirmation that you need.
In relation to boosting your child’s immune system, emphasis is on nutrition, with double emphasis on vitamin C.
Thankfully, you won’t have to go out of your way to get this necessary vitamin, as it can be gotten from oranges and other citrus. However, it is in a wide variety of other foods as well.
Try to include in your child’s diet healthy options like potatoes, broccoli, and spinach, and ugwu which are excellent sources too.
You can try putting them in a smoothie if your child won’t eat them straight up.
Bell peppers, strawberries, and pawpaw are great sources of vitamin C.
Also, look to boost your child’s intake of vitamin E.
It is another important nutrient for warding off sickness, as it is a strong antioxidant. You’ll find this vitamin in nuts, oils, meats, and eggs as well as green leafy vegetables like spinach and broccoli.
2. Up Their Zinc And Iron Levels
A deficiency in zinc also impacts the immune system, which means incorporating it into your child’s diet is essential.
Oysters or crabs are high in zinc, but if your child’s palate isn’t refined enough for oysters yet, you have plenty of other options like meats, fortified cereals, crab, lobster, and baked beans.
Alternative sources of zinc include dairy products, cashews, chickpeas, almonds, and oatmeal.
The good thing is that these foods are also a great source of iron, another essential nutrient for your child’s immune system.
3. Feature Selenium
Selenium also plays a vital role in keeping up the immune system.
Beef, eggs, seafood, kidney, liver, and other types of meat are all good sources of selenium, which means that if your child is getting enough protein, they are likely getting enough selenium.
Other good sources of this nutrient include cheese, oatmeal, brown rice, enriched pasta, spinach, baked beans, whole-wheat bread, and fortified cereal.
4. Prioritize Clean Air And Good Sleep
Seek to ensure that your child is breathing clean air. To achieve this clean the ceiling fans, curtains, and air condition vents regularly. Also, ensure your child is getting enough sleep
More than anyone else, children need enough sleep to keep their immune systems functioning properly.
Without adequate sleep, your child is more likely to get sick more readily.
The amount of sleep a child needs varies by age, so make sure your child is getting enough sleep for their age bracket.
It is recommended that newborns should get 14 to 17 hours, while infants need 12 to 15 hours.
Toddlers function best on 11 to 14 hours, while preschoolers can be just fine on 10 to 13 hours.
Once your child reaches age 6, 9 to 11 hours is ideal, until they are about 14. At 14, they’ll do just fine on 8 to 10 hours. If they are over 17, 7 to 9 hours is fine, just like adults.
5. Vaccinate Your Child/ren
Once your child is up to date with vaccination is one sure-fire way to boost their immune system.
What vaccination does is basically teach your child’s immune system how to fight certain infections, making it more robust.
So, talk to your doctor about an appropriate vaccination schedule for your child.
Conventionally, kids are vaccinated at birth, two months, four months, six months, and 12 to 18 months.
You can also get your child a boost before starting school.
6. Don’t abuse Antibiotics
No doubt, you want your child to get better as quickly as possible when they are sick.
Nevertheless, not every illness requires or even responds to antibiotics.
Viruses, for example, do not respond to antibiotics.
And the problem is, when your child takes antibiotics too often, it leads to stronger bacteria that are harder to kill.
Additionally, it kills off the good bacteria that help keep your child’s body in balance. Don’t abuse antibiotics and stick to your doctor’s prescriptions.
Have Your Read: 6 Nigerian Foods That Can Make Your Baby Gain Weight
Therefore, your child should only take antibiotics if they have a more serious bacterial infection (rather than mild).
Your child’s doctor should make the call about whether antibiotics are necessary.
If your child has an earache or sore throat, for instance, these are not times to skip on an antibiotic.
But as always, you need to see a physician and they will tell you if your child’s illness requires an antibiotic or not.
7. Encourage Frequent Hand Washing
One way to stop the spread of germs is to teach your child to wash their hands frequently.
Instruct your child that they should wash their hands after activities like playing on the playground, going to the bathroom, and sneezing or coughing into their hands.
Also, teach them to wash their hands before handling food or eating. Model the same behaviour for your child.
Show your child how to use soap to thoroughly scrub up their hands.
If you’re worried they aren’t washing long enough, get them to sing “Happy Birthday,” which is about the right length of time.
Teach them also not to touch their eyes or mouth.
When your child picks up germs from surfaces and other kids, they are more than half the time, transferred into the body through the mouth or eyes.
By encouraging your kids to keep their hands away from these areas, you can help keep them from getting sick.
Let them know when it’s not okay to share everything. While you want your kids to be giving and kind, you don’t want them to participate in the circulation of germs.
One way you can achieve this is to make sure your kids aren’t sharing food, cups, utensils, or water bottles that have been in their mouths.
Germs can be easily transmitted this way.
Find more resources on parenting here.
