Children’s health is a crucial aspect of their development, and immunity builds and strengthens as they get older. The younger a child is, the less his or her body is able to resist the attacks of viruses and bacteria. It is the parent’s job to help the child cope with potential threats and to work on strengthening immunity as early as possible.
What is immunity
Children’s health relies heavily on immunity, which is a natural defense system that protects the body from attack by viruses, fungi, bacteria, and allergens. Immunity is innate and acquired. Congenital – hereditary defense function of the body, formed during pregnancy.
Acquired immunity is formed as the child grows up and the body “meets” with various foreign agents.
Immune defense can be developed and strengthened from the baby’s first months, helping the child grow up healthy and strong.
How to strengthen immunity from the first days of life for children’s health
Parents need to create optimal conditions for the development of the baby in the conditions of the apartment or home to ensure children’s health.
- Microclimate. A child’s room should be bright and spacious. When the child is not in it, it should be ventilated as often as possible so that there is fresh air. This is one of the key points of immunity training for children’s health.
- Proper feeding. Together with breast milk, the baby receives not only proteins, fats, carbohydrates, but also lysozyme, interferons, and other useful substances that protect the child’s body. They are found only in mother’s milk, so breastfeeding is especially important for newborns and children of the first year of life.
- Inculcation of the culture of nutrition. Optimally, if the family is accepted to eat a variety of proper food (porridge, vegetables, soups, meat, fish, etc.). Adhering to the principles of a healthy diet, the immunity of the baby will strengthen year by year. Try as often as possible to have breakfast or dinner as a family at the same table: so the child will adopt the healthy eating habits of parents.
- Physical activity in the fresh air. It is useful for children to walk in the fresh air, sunbathing. Movable games in the street, bicycling, and walks in the woods – this is the right course for the natural development of the child and strengthening his immunity.
- Tempering with cool water. You can start from birth: while bathing, water your baby with slightly cool (not cold) water. You do not need to make a big contrast from the beginning, the child should gradually get used to the lower temperature. Such procedures are especially useful before bedtime.
Strengthening children’s health during the fall season
In the fall, a child’s immune system is especially vulnerable. In addition to the fact that the cold weather is coming, periods of epidemiological outbreaks begin, and many more experience stress at the beginning of the fall season because of school or kindergarten. Here are some recommendations from doctors for children’s health:
- Ensuring the necessary level of humidity in the room, especially during the heating season: due to the drying of the nasopharyngeal mucous membranes, susceptibility to infections increases. The child’s skin becomes dry, prone to irritation and peeling, the child sleeps worse and becomes cranky. And all to blame – dry air! Maintaining proper humidity is crucial for children’s health during colder months.
- Observance of sleep, rest, and wakefulness: the child should sleep well, during the day should be moderate physical activity, in the middle of the day and before bedtime is desirable quiet pastime.
- Taking vitamin complexes. How to raise the immunity of the child with the help of multivitamin complexes? To strengthen immunity, complexes rich in vitamins D, E, A, C, immunoactive amino acids, zinc, selenium, omega-3-polyunsaturated fatty acids are suitable. Before buying it is worth consulting with a pediatrician and taking additional tests to determine the level of vitamins. You can not just drink them like that! Hypervitaminosis is just as dangerous as avitaminosis.
Physical activity for better children’s health
Physical activity plays a key role in building immunity and children’s health too!
Babies who exercise get sick less often and generally have an easier time with viral illnesses. Physical activity is a kind of immune system exercise. Only there is one “but”: these training sessions should not be selective, but regular. It is not necessary to engage in professional sports – you can start with games in the yard and morning gymnastics, visiting the school sports section or the swimming pool in kindergarten, all of which contribute to children’s health.
Lack of sleep and disruption of daily routines
Sleep plays a critical role in cell regeneration and body repair. During sleep, immune processes are active, helping the body to regenerate and fight off infections. Lack of sleep, frequent awakenings at night, or disrupted daily routines can lead to weakened immunity.
Children of different ages have their own sleep rate:
- Infants up to 1 year of age – 14-17 hours.
- Preschool children – 10-12 hours.
- School children – 9-10 hours.
If a child sleeps less than the recommended amount, their body does not have time to recover, which increases the risk of illness.
Psychosomatic development and its impact on children’s health
The psychosomatics of frequently sick children often indicate that the child is in an emotionally unstable state, which can negatively affect children’s health. He or she may be sick more often to get attention from parents who are usually very busy at work or taking care of younger children. It has also been observed that some children move into the frequent sickness category when a sibling is born, after a move, change of kindergarten or school. Any stressful events can turn into illness, as children’s health and their fragile psyche are not always able to cope with difficulties on its own.
Folk remedies
Many parents choose folk remedies to strengthen the immunity of the child, but modern science does not confirm their effectiveness. These methods only temporarily relieve cold symptoms and do not help to strengthen the body’s defenses. In addition, some products and decoctions of herbs can be dangerous for the child, for example, honey should not be given to children under two years old because of the risk of botulism.
Before using folk remedies, be sure to discuss this with your doctor. A pediatrician or immunologist will recommend safe and effective ways to support your child’s health to avoid risks and do no harm.
Also, do not use immunomodulatory remedies without a doctor’s prescription, as their effectiveness for strengthening immunity in children is not confirmed by evidence-based medicine.
