How to Nurture Your Child’s Immune System

One of the best things you can do to help your child’s immune system to develop and keep them healthy is to optimize the gut health. Here are 4 easy and simple things that can help:

Choose a Variety of Fruits and Vegetables

As your child grows, offer whole foods, including plenty of fruits, vegetables and grains. Bananas and asparagus are rich in prebiotics, which help probiotics—found in fermented foods like yogurt and kefir—do their jobs.

Becoming a pet lover

Playing with a family or neighborhood pet even has its benefits to overall immune health—helping to diversify the species of bacteria in your child’s gut. Studies show that safe interaction with pets can change the composition and diversity of the microbes in a child’s gut and may even reduce their risk for asthma, eczema, and other infections.

Let them play around in the dirt!

Encourage playing outside and explore the outdoors! Not only does this help them get a dose of healthy bacteria, it gets them active. Don’t overtly be a germaphobe, but you should always make sure your child washes his hands after using the bathroom. Also encourage a good washing before meals and when they are ill.

Move More

Physical activity is a given to be healthy. Make sure they get at least 60 minutes of activity each day at the park, the playground or an indoor play space on brisk days.

Build your child’s immune system

From an early age, the gut microbiome development begins. With a few simple steps, parents can play an important role in helping to build a child’s immune system – by first building a healthy gut – and laying the foundation for a lifetime of good health.

Reference(s):

1. https://abbottfamily.com.sg/articles/baby/6-ways-to-boost-child-immune-system