Until my son turned 3, I can count the number of times he has fallen ill with one hand. His teachers at preschool would wonder at his amazing immune system and would lament to me that his peers would be skipping school often due to being ill. So it made me take a look at what I did to ensure my child falls sick less often.
The only time my son had to be in the hospital was when he had an allergic reaction to some nuts in a cake. But besides that, he has never had to be admitted nor has he gone to the clinic for even the common flu.
Looking back, here are some of the things that I did that I want to share with other parents to hopefully, reduce the doctor’s visits.
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Tips to ensure your child falls sick less often
1# Clean but not too clean
While I ensure my child takes his evening bath and brushes his teeth, I tried the theory of Hygiene Hypothesis to see if it would help with his immune system and to my surprise, it did.
The Hygiene Hypothesis is a theory that suggests that children’s environment’s should not be “too clean” so that it can actively stimulate the child’s immune system to mature properly and fight off diseases or illnesses Davis, C. P. (2018, June 13). The hygiene Hypothesis Definition, Information. Retrieved April 01, 2021, from www.medicinenet.com/the_hygiene_hypothesis/views.htm .
So my home was never too clean. I don’t mop or sweep or vacuum every day or every single time I see a strand of hair or dust on the floor. In fact, I only vacuumed once a week, changed his sheets once a week and let him occasionally eat stuff he had dropped on the floor.
In the end, I saw that his immune system was maturing and could handle these minor bacteria.
2# Prioritise sleep
One thing many of my friends and family never understood was how I would schedule my day around my son’s naps. We would be out having a family lunch and 2 pm would creep up, and I would promptly excuse myself to bring my son home for his nap.
Sure, he could nap in the car or at the restaurant itself, but it would not give him the restful sleep he needed. To give him the most restful naps, we ensured he always had a dark, quiet room to nap in.
Without fail, every day he would take his naps at the exact same time and then he would go to bed by 7 pm. We established a very certain routine for him and one of the reasons we believe his immune system is so strong is because of his sleep.
Good sleep and rest is associated with a stronger immune system Born, J., Dimitrov, S., & Lange, T. (n.d.). Effects of sleep and circadian rhythm on the human immune system. Retrieved April 01, 2021, from pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20398008/ and this is very evident in practice.
Credit: iStock
3# Don’t skip any vaccinations
One of the things we did was to stick to a strict vaccination schedule too. We even opted in for the recommended ones like chickenpox and rotavirus. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.
So when there was a small outbreak of chickenpox at my son’s preschool, it did not worry me as I knew my son would be protected from it. It’s a small upfront cost to pay.
After all, paediatric hospital bills can go well into the hundreds or thousands even for a one night stay – so why not vaccinate your children to prevent them from having to go through the ailment and treatment, right?
4# Provide a stable environment at home
Mental health is important. Yes – even from a young age. Mental health can affect our physical health as adults, and the same applies for children. Children who are given a happy, carefree childhood environment will also benefit from it by falling sick less often.
Stress can negatively affect their physical health and when your child falls sick, stress could be a contributing factor. So as parents, we should try to create a stress-free environment for our kids.
5# Reinforcing their nutritional intake
My son is quite the fussy eater. He only wants to eat the same foods everyday – mashed potatoes, bolognese sauce with minced beef, salmon and steamed carrots and broccoli. Sounds healthy, right?
Well, while this might be healthy, it doesn’t hurt to reinforce their diet with additional vitamins and nutrients. I ensure my child gets additional prebiotics by adding Similac Gain Plus® Gold to his daily intake.
Similac Gain Plus® Gold is the world’s first formula with 2’-FL, nucleotides and EYE-Q® NUTRITION SYSTEM.
EYE-Q® NUTRITION SYSTEM is the unique blend of Lutein, Natural Vitamin E & DHA for overall brain development to support fast learning, while protecting your child’s body defense with the dual system of 2’-FL and nucleotides.
The 2’-FL, which stands for 2′-Fucosyllactose, is an oligosaccharide composed of L-fucose, D-galactose, and D-glucose units. It helps to nourish your child’s gut.
Additionally, the 2′-FL is prebiotic that is able to ‘trick’ bacteria, reducing chances of them binding to the body3. It helps to fight off the harmful pathogens that try to enter your body.
Nucleotides, on the other hand, are the building blocks of DNA which help to strengthen your child from within.
So with all of these steps I took, I was able to ensure my child falls sick less and at the same time, ensure he is getting the best nutrition to support a stronger immune system while enhancing his learning ability.
Get your sample of Similac Gain Plus® Gold to support your child’s immunity here.
Reference:
1 Davis, C. P. (2018, June 13). The hygiene Hypothesis Definition, Information. Retrieved April 01, 2021, from www.medicinenet.com/the_hygiene_hypothesis/views.htm
2 Born, J., Dimitrov, S., & Lange, T. (n.d.). Effects of sleep and circadian rhythm on the human immune system. Retrieved April 01, 2021, from pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20398008/
3 Bode L et.al. Glycobiology 2012;22(9):1147-62.
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