How To Boost Your Child's Immunity?

Every parent wants a happy and healthy baby. This makes it important to concentrate on boosting a child's immunity naturally to prevent him or her from falling sick at a drop of hat and also keeping him or her away from unnecessary medication that can be easily avoided.

What Is Immunity?

Immunity is the way your body fights the foreign invasion it is subjected to every day. In children it is in a nascent stage and you as parents need to build it through.

1. healthy diet like serving fruits and vegetables instead of junk food
2. healthy habits like maintaining personal hygiene, washing hands before and after every meal, and after coming from outside.

Tips to Boost Child's Immunity

While there are numerous ways you can boost your child's immunity, here I am listing the 6 most prominent ones, which if followed diligently will ensure that your child stays healthy and fit through the year>

1. Nutrition is of Utmost importance: A perfect well planned diet can work wonders in maintaining a child's health and boosting his immunity.
   • Balanced diet with inclusion of lots of fruits and vegetables: Inculcating healthy eating habits should be one of the key concentration areas for parents. Your child should consume good portions of fruits and vegetables. Carrots, beans, strawberries and oranges contain immunity boosting phytonutrients like caretonoids and Vitamin C. These phytonutrients increase production of white blood cells which fight infection better. These foods also enhance production of antibody interferon which blocks out various viruses. Inclusion of green leafy vegetables in a child's diet is also a must. These vegetables are a rich source of zinc, folic acid, iron and vitamins
   • Proteins are a must: Sufficient proteins should also be a part of everyday child to ensure maintenance of immunity. Inclusion of fish, meats and eggs should also be considered
   • Regularity in meals: While it might be difficult to follow the clock when it comes to a young child’s activities, it helps to have a fairly fixed schedule for meals. Scheduled meals at regular frequencies improve the digestive system of a child and keep the body much stronger
   • Inculcation of hygienic habits: Teach your child the basics of maintaining cleanliness and explained how cleanliness can keep them away from germs. Washing hands before and after meals and after using wash room should be a part of his daily practices. The difference between junk food and healthy food should also be explained to them right since the beginning
   • Keeping away from alcohol and smoking: Make sure your child is kept away from alcoholic drinks and smoking. This includes keeping the child from smoking areas. Passive smoking is equally bad as smoking for a child's immunity development
   • Inclusion of home remedies to boost child immunity: A few homemade combinations prove to be extremely beneficial for boosting up immunity in children. These include a mixture of honey and ginger juice, adding garlic in good amounts to everyday food cooked at home, Tulsi leaves or a blend of tulsi leaves juice and honey
   • Importance of probiotics: Fermented foods and curd or yoghurt are rich sources of probiotics. They protect against various infections and make children healthy. Probiotics also assist in recovery from gastroenteritis. Probiotics are good bacteria that fight and prevent colonization of bad bacteria in a growing child's stomach thereby acting as an immunity booster
2. Maintaining sleep schedule: A baby's ever growing body and mind need sufficient rest and sleep to maintain its strength.
   1. Adequate sleep not only rejuvenates the body but also strengthens it enough to fight infections
   2. Formulating a routine such that sleep time, wake up time and hours of sleep are more or less the same every day, is of supreme importance. Mid-day naps may be included in their routine considering their activity level
   3. Sleep deprivation can make a child more susceptible to falling ill as sleep deprivation in children results in reduction of natural killer cells which offer protection against microbes and cancer cells
3. Exercises and Outdoor activities: Engaging in outdoor activities and regular exercises make a body stronger and is a big boost to a child's immunity.
   1. Physical activity channelizes a child's pent up energy and ensures upkeep of his body and mind
   2. Best practice would be to allow your child to run around and do whatever he wants in a play area or park
4. Restricted exposure of electronic gadgets: A child's eyes are impacted negatively because of their over-exposure of tablets, mobile appliances and television sets.

   A few smart steps can help your child to stay strong and healthy and overcome illnesses.

   Did you like the tips on boosting your child's immunity by Chayanika? Share your views and feedback with us in the comments section below.

   1. Children should be made aware of the adverse effect of over-use of gadgets on their health
   2. Moreover, these appliances restrict the child to a particular place thereby restricting their movement and making them lethargic. These factors cumulatively impact immunity of a growing child
   3. Exposure to sun for Vitamin D: It is important to ensure that the child is getting sufficiently exposed to sunshine.
      1. Sunshine is a mandate not only for ensuring absorption of calcium for healthy bones and teeth of the baby but also maintaining a healthy immune system
      2. Vitamin D levels are very important in growing children especially in the age group of 3 to 7 years. Supplements may be added to his daily intake
   4. Avoid giving antibiotics unnecessarily: Make sure antibiotics are given only when absolutely necessary.
      1. Antibiotics can cure only those ailments which are caused by bacteria whereas viruses are responsible for most of the illnesses in children between the age group of 3 to 7 years
      2. Too much usage of antibiotics result in flourishing of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Hence, it is important to discuss honestly with the paediatrician and use antibiotics diligently