"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

Boost your child's immune system

Parents often wonder: What can we do to maintain our kids healthy? Are there ways to spice up the immune system and forestall covid, cold, flu and other diseases?

The answer is yes – but there are not any magic wands or magic supplements. The best method to keep the immune system healthy is, mainly, to take the vital steps to remain healthy. As boring because it sounds, it's tried and true.

Here's what you may do to assist keep your kids healthy this school 12 months.

Give them healthy food.

By “healthy,” I mean a food plan with plenty of vegetables and fruit (five servings a day are really helpful, they usually should take up half of every meal plate), whole grains, and lean protein. A healthy food plan also includes dairy or one other source of calcium and healthy fats, akin to vegetable oils.

Foods to avoid are processed foods, foods with added sugar, and foods high in unhealthy fats, akin to saturated fat present in animal products. This doesn’t mean that your child can never eat cookies or ice cream. But in the event you want your child to be healthy, he shouldn't eat that food on daily basis. (Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition There are suggestions for Healthy Baked Goods and other ways to make your loved ones's food plan healthier).

There are many supplements that claim to spice up your immune system. While the jury remains to be out on whether most of those make an actual difference, none of them replace a healthy food plan. If you will have a toddler who refuses vegetables or otherwise has a restricted food plan, a multivitamin with iron may make sense. Talk to your doctor about whether vitamins or supplements are a great idea to your child.

Make sure they get enough sleep.

We all need sleep to refresh and recharge our bodies, and that features children. The amount of sleep a toddler needs varies by age (from 12 to 16 hours a day for babies to eight to 10 hours a day for teenagers) and from child to child (some need greater than others). ). You can encourage healthy sleep by limiting screens — for teens, devices must be turned off an hour or two before bed and preferably out of the bedroom at night — and keeping to an everyday schedule. Should.

Make them energetic

Exercise keeps us healthy and fewer more likely to get sick. Children should really be energetic for an hour a day. “Active” doesn't mean playing sports or going to the gym. It could be playing within the playground or going for a walk. More just isn’t necessarily higher. If you will have a toddler who’s a serious athlete, exercising several hours a day, be sure the exercise isn't eating away at sleep or causing burnout, each of which might cause problems with the immune system. can do Speaking of which…

Manage stress.

Stress makes us less healthy and more vulnerable to infections. Make sure kids have time to play, and access to activities and people who make them comfortable (or whatever version of this pandemic allows). Spend time together as a family, and create opportunities to your children to speak about anything that’s troubling them. Talk to your doctor if you will have concerns about your child's mood or emotional health.

Make sure they’re up so far on essential vaccines.

Immunizations protect us from every kind of diseases. Check together with your doctor in case your child is up so far on immunizations. A yearly flu shot is really helpful for everybody 6 months of age and older.

Don't forget easy precautions

Everyone within the family can take easy precautions to assist stay healthy. Wash your hands. Cover your coughs and sneezes together with your elbow. Stay away from sick people as much as possible. Masks can even help, especially in crowded indoor spaces.

If your child has a health problem that will make it harder to fight off an infection, confer with your doctor about additional or different precautions.

Follow me on Twitter. @drClaire