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Boosting your Child’s Immune System

By Iris Farrou 22 Jun, 2023 Childhood Health, Diet & Exercise, Fatherhood, New Moms, Parenting, Prevention, Toddler Health, Women's Health, Young adults & teens, Your baby's health Anxiety, Baby, Boost Immunity, Child, food, Good Health, Immune System, Immunizations, Importance of, Pre-Teen, Probiotics, Sleep, Strengthen, Stress, Toddler, Vaccine, Vaccines, Vitamins, Wellbeing

The first concern every parent has when it comes to their child’s health is to keep them safe as much as possible. With extracurricular activities, summer camps, and attending school being a normal part of any child’s life, and going hand in hand with exposure to germs, it is often a challenge to help your children’s immune system stay strong. There are two routes that can assist you in this struggle: diet and lifestyle.

Before we talk about details on either path, there is one undeniable basis: make sure your children are up to date on important vaccines. For all people 6 months and older, the flu shot is recommended. COVID vaccines are now safe for younger ages as well–make sure all eligible family members are immunized, and keep checking with your pediatrician about being up to date on other necessary immunizations.

Diet and Supplements

In an ideal world, you have the time to prepare the best and healthiest meals for your family, and your children are never picky eaters. That would be a wonderful movie, but it is not the truth. Though pediatricians advise against using supplements and multivitamins to enrich your child’s diet–particularly because those are not well regulated in the US and their ingredients are not guaranteed–there are certain cases when supplements are needed.

Vitamin D is the first vitamin that helps children build a strong immune system; they usually would absorb it from the sun. However, if you do not live in a sunny area, there are certain kid-friendly foods that can help with that: fortified Vitamin D milk and yogurt, and orange juice. If you are lucky enough to be able to serve your child salmon, trout, tuna, and sardines then you are raising their chances of absorbing the necessary amount of Vitamin D. To use supplements, it is suggested that you first consult with your doctor and do a blood panel to see where your child’s Vitamin D levels are at, and what supplement is most appropriate for them.

Zinc is an important mineral that assists kids’ immune system. Oysters, red meat, and poultry are the best sources of zinc, followed by beans and nuts. If your child does not accept any of these foods, consult your pediatrician on how to proceed with a zinc supplement.

Probiotics and prebiotics play an important role in our immune system, specifically because they ensure good gut health. Probiotics ensure a good balance of helpful bacteria in our bodies, and in addition to yogurts you can try giving your child fermented foods–like pickles or miso–to help with that. Prebiotics also stimulate the growth of good bacteria, and they are mostly plant fibers: green bananas or plantains, yams, asparagus.

Lifestyle

Keep in mind that a healthy lifestyle is additional to a balanced diet when it comes to fortifying your child’s immune system. If you don’t have fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts and seeds in their diet, lifestyle changes can only do so much.

However, keep in mind that children need lots of sleep for their system to function properly and recharge. 12-16 hours for infants and around 10 hours for kids is what’s necessary to assist your kids in being healthy and help keep them on a regular schedule. Additionally, exercise and keeping active can do wonders for our immune system: encourage your child to be physically active at least one hour a day in some form of activity that they like; if they appreciate sports, so much the better! Physical activity doesn’t only contribute to overall good health, but it also helps manage stress. When we are stressed, especially in cases of heightened or chronic stress, our immune system is volatile and makes us more prone to infections. Be mindful of the stress levels your child may be facing, and encourage activities that make them happy and fulfilled.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/boosting-your-childs-immune-system-202110122614

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-boost-your-kids-immunity/

Bedtime Routine

By Iris Farrou 21 May, 2023 Fatherhood, Lifestyle Tips, Mental Health, New Moms, Parenting, Toddler Health, Young adults & teens, Your baby's health Bedtime Routine, Bonding, Children's Bedtime, Emotional Regulation, Healthy Amount of Sleep, Healthy Family Dynamic, Healthy Sleep Habits, How to Create Bedtime Routine, Kid Bedtime, Nap, Regulation, Routine, Sleep, Sleep Schedules, Teenager, Teens, Toddler, Toddler Mental Health, Well-being

Whether it comes to you as an adult, or to you as a parent, or even to your family as a whole–regardless of your kids’ ages–sleep is a topic of discussion in all households. When you are a new parent, it’s almost certain that you will not sleep through the night unless your baby does; when you are parenting a toddler, you may find that bedtime is a point of contention. Like most things when it comes to parenting, the caregivers are role models: if we don’t have good sleep habits, and are not properly informed, how can we teach our children to follow a bedtime routine?

Importance of Healthy Sleep

Establishing a bedtime routine is helpful for not only our physical health, but also for our mental health, energy levels and ability to focus. When it comes to school-age children, receiving a good night’s sleep consistently improves their working memory, concentration and other cognitive skills, as well as attention. In the long run, this translates to better academic performance, readiness for school and other activities that require focus throughout the day, as well as sharp social skills.

Of course, this applies to teenagers and adults as well: the better your sleep routine is, the better equipped you are to face each day and/or help your body regulate your nervous system. Sleep habits are also an element of self-care that is often overlooked, and when implemented into a family routine can have a lot of positive effects on the family dynamic.

Bedtime Routine

To start building a healthy bedtime routine for your children, the first thing you should remember is that you are an active participant in it–it is a family activity. The second piece of advice is to keep the routine simple and repeat it at the same time every evening, with the same order. For example, when it’s close to bedtime you can start dimming the lights down and turning off screens. Then, you can start a 4-step bedtime routine of having a snack, brushing your teeth, putting on pajamas, and reading a book.

Some other activities that have shown positive effects when it comes to bedtime include a bath or diaper change, going to the bathroom, singing a song together or a lullaby, talking with your kid about their day, and of course cuddling/rocking. For both children and adults, the bedtime routine should consist of stress-free, non-stimulating, and soothing activities. Remember that physically and psychologically stressful activities can increase alertness, thus damaging the body’s ability to wind down.

Like most parenting activities, even a bedtime routine is an opportunity to not only bond with your child and create memories, but also help them grow into independent adults. A simple act such as leaving the room when your child is sleepy but not fully sleeping can teach them how to fall asleep on their own.

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/bedtime-routine

https://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/getting/overcoming/tips

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