Ways to Boost Your Child’s Immunity

baby

by Nemanja Marinkoff

Immunity is a broad umbrella term that implies an intricate connection between physical and mental wellbeing. This is why it is just as important to make your child feel safe as it is to control their dietary habits to boost their immunity.

Germs are the least of your worries. Persistent infections and incessant flues occur when the foundation – the immune system – does not function properly. If your child is getting ill too often and you feel unable to make heads or tails out of their condition, there are several ways to boost your child’s immunity.

Internet is a tool, use it wisely

The important thing to note is that your child having a compromised immunity is not a testament to bad parenting!

Nobody was born knowledgeable and you just need a few new tricks up your sleeve! This is where the rich online community of parents comes into play. From the natural methods to decrease your child’s temperature to comprehensible advice on how to regulate their weight, there is a whole world of useful tips out there.

However, it also holds that you need to ‘break through’ a lot of misinformation noise, which is why you should turn to reliable sites such as Born Cute, with well-researched blog posts that have a good track record. Avoid communities and blogs that have articles with sensationalistic claims, and you should be golden.

The magnesium bomb

Now, one of the first revelations that you’ll stumble upon on almost every child-related website worth its salt is that Vitamin C is not be-all-end-all of strengthening your kid’s immunity. There is a whole cocktail of vitamins that are just as essential (if not more so) in keeping the growing child’s body up and running.

Magnesium is cited as one of the holy grails of immunity that will boost your child’s energy levels. It is practically a fuel for mitochondria as magnesium encourages these organelles to form ATP (adenosine triphosphate) – literal cellular energy enzymes.

Expose them to the sun

There is also a matter of vitamin D. Your child’s growing bones require ample influx of this essential element, but most people (children included) are teetering on the verge of deficiency. We live in a digital age when most of our time is spent at home, but your child’s immunity would benefit greatly if you exposed them to the sun rays now and then.

15 to 20 minutes of direct sunlight will encourage their body to naturally produce vitamin D. You just have to ensure that their skin is exposed to the sun as much as possible. That being said, you should avoid taking them out between 10 AM and 5 PM, to minimize the risk of sun damage.

It will be like killing two flies with one blow – their immunity will become stronger and their bone density will be solid.

In winter, this may be a little bit difficult so instead, stock up on vitamin D spray and make sure your child takes it every day.

Encourage outdoor play

Since we have touched upon the topic of sun exposure, you should also make an extra effort to encourage outdoor play whenever possible. If your child is cooked up in their room, looking at digital screens all the time, they can become anxious and stressed out. This chronic stress leads to fatigue and weakened immune response if their body is ‘attacked’ by germs.

Playing outside will expose your child to the elements, and this includes contact with other kids too. This natural ‘inoculation’ through exposure plays a pivotal part in ‘forging’ a rock-solid immunity.

Furthermore, physical exhaustion and exercise will vent them out. It is a perfect form of stress relief that doesn’t come with strings attached – all children are excited by the idea of outdoor play if they’ve had a taste of it.

The matter of food

Don’t mistake food for tokens of love. Sweets and hamburgers are a nice reward from time to time, but you, as a parent, should look at dietary sources strictly as elemental body fuel and ask yourself the following questions:

Does it contain ample vitamins and minerals that my growing child needs? Is it filling? Is it the least refined and cooked form of naturally occurring food resource? If the answer to all three questions is yes, you’ve hit the jackpot.

Since you are the ‘supply line’ of food, you can broaden the canvas of fruits, veggies, plant-based protein sources (edible mushrooms, beans) and cut off the influx of snacks, sweets, refined carbs, and sugar.

Let your child choose within this limited box – they will feel as if they are in control of what they consume, and you will be certain that they are eating exactly what they should. Your child’s immunity will be ever so grateful for this subterfuge in the long run.

Conclusion

Raising a child hardly comes with an ironclad set of rules that work for everyone. Each child is a unique set of cognitive and metabolic idiosyncrasies – true individuals in every sense of that word. When it comes to boosting the immunity of children, it is those small details that make all the difference.

Rely on your intuition as a parent, as well as your child’s response and the advice of their dedicated paediatrician to create a rigid, formidable immune system that will last them through the tumultuous period of development.