The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has left parents worrying about the health and safety of their little ones. In such times, it is vital to keep giving your child nutritional food. It is also important to ensure that they remain active and get sufficient sunshine to keep their immune system strong and ready to fight off any type of virus.
Proper nutrition along with an active lifestyle in the first two years of your child’s life ensures healthy growth, a strengthened immune system, and enhanced cognitive development.
Here are a few healthy habits that you can adopt to boost your little munchkin’s immunity:
- Hydration is mandatory
Make sure your little ones are having loads of water and staying hydrated. Water is an essential source of circulating nutrients and compounds in the blood and it also helps in regulating body temperature and flushing out the toxins. You can even serve them freshly squeezed fruit juice as a source of energy and hydration.
- Breastfeed your baby
Breast milk contains antibodies and white blood cells that are vital for your child’s immunity. These antibodies help in preventing your baby from a variety of diseases and infections like UTI, meningitis, allergies, pneumonia, diarrhoea, and ear infections. It is recommended that mothers exclusively breastfeed their little ones for the first six months after birth. You can find a variety of breastfeeding products at Mothercare online, such as electric breast pump, manual breast pump, breast pads and nipple shields, etc.
- Replace sugar with fruits
Sugar tends to alter the immune system in various ways. It feeds the pathogenic sugar-loving bacteria which causes the vital immunity-boosting bacteria to be pushed out of the body. Therefore, it is important to add fruits to your child’s diet. Fruits like oranges, blueberries and strawberries containing carotenoids bear immunity-boosting nutrients that enhance the production of infection-fighting white blood cells in the body.
- Out and about in the sun
Exercise, activity, and sunshine are important for the immune system. Let your child spend some time in the sun during the first half of the day to ensure their daily intake of vitamin D. It helps in regulating the absorption of calcium in their bodies, and also strengthens their immune system. A little bit of physical activity every day will keep your child’s muscles healthy and strong, while also enhancing their mental state, coordination, flexibility and cognitive development.
In addition to the suggestions mentioned above, you must also include fresh green leafy vegetables in your baby’s diet and make sure that they get sufficient sleep.
These are tough times, but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. All you need to do is ensure that your child is taking a proper nutrition-packed diet and getting lots of sunshine, rest, and water. With proper care and precautions, we shall be able to get through this safely.
