How To Improve Children’s Defenses For The Winter
Whenever winter comes, it inevitably brings bad weather and cold with it. Undoubtedly, we are talking about one of the most bitter enemies of every mother. However, you don’t have to worry at all: the secret is to prepare children for this season of the year in order to improve their defenses.
Your children’s immune system is weaker than that of adults. For this reason, the little ones become easy targets of the bad season. They are vulnerable to low temperatures, which favors the contraction of frequent illnesses such as flu, colds, pharyngitis and bronchitis. But how can you do to improve the defenses of the little ones of the house?
To avoid these conditions and others even more serious, it will be convenient to take care of every detail of their health. There are some simple tricks you can do, every day and all year round, to strengthen your child’s immune system, reducing the chances of getting sick in the winter. In this article, we will reveal what they are.
Food and rest, the keys to improving defenses
While it may not seem trivial, what will allow your child to improve defenses against the cold is simply a healthy life. This means eating well and sleeping a lot. A varied and balanced diet, along with the right amount of rest are the perfect recipe to avoid most seasonal ailments. Well, excessive amounts of stress and fatigue, combined with poor sleep and a nutritional deficit, will open your children’s bodies to a large number of bacteria and viruses.
If you have a one or two-year-old baby, pediatricians indicate that there is no better defense than breast milk. It has been scientifically proven to act as a protective shield against various diseases. By properly nourishing the baby, you will protect him from: otitis, respiratory and gastrointestinal complications.
When the child is able to eat fruit and vegetables, increase the rations of this type of solid food. A good option is to increase the amount of citrus fruits included in the diet. Try to favor those varieties that are richest in vitamins A and C.
At the same time, try to prepare foods with a sufficient amount of protein. To do this, you can include cereals and legumes in your diet. Prepare hot broths and infusions, to raise body temperature and keep hydration levels high, with water and natural juices at room temperature. Naturally, the child will have to respect the canonical four meals of the day.
Always wash your hands: a healthy habit
An essential habit to teach children to improve their defenses is to wash their hands. Doing this often and well helps prevent diseases and infections. By creating this habit from the early years, it will become a basic factor for the protection of their health.
Therefore, children and adults have to put it into practice at all times. For example, before and after each meal or after handling meat, eggs, fruit and vegetables. You will need to teach them to wash their hands even if they touch sick people or poorly cleaned surfaces or objects.
Obviously, we are talking about washing them well, with hot water, from the fingertips to the elbows. With hot water and lathering for 40 to 60 seconds, rubbing well between the fingers and under the nails, with patience.
So remember: if your child plays, falls on the sidewalk, pats a dog, or picks up something from the ground, have them wash their hands! Just put your fingers over your mouth to trigger a possible problem. Start early, so that this becomes a simple habit.
How to dress children in winter?
The main barrier against the cold, of course, is clothing. Warm and waterproof clothing, which however allows the skin to transpire, will allow the little ones to go out and play even in winter, without getting sick. Therefore, it is vital to know how to choose the right clothes to cope with this season’s weather conditions.
The important thing is that the baby is very warm. But be careful: not excessively, because otherwise he could sweat and you would get the opposite result. So the idea is not to cover your child with clothes, quite the contrary.
It is convenient to dress babies in layers, starting with normal ones and only cover them if it starts to get colder. The trick therefore lies in “covering” and not in “uncovering”, if it is hot. You will certainly have to choose suitable clothes based on the type of outside temperature, of the day and if the little one will be kept in the carrier, on the stroller, in your arms or if he will walk alone.
Another factor to consider is the time of exposure to cold. How long will you be away from home? What is the weather like? Is there wind or is the sun warm enough? Here are other elements that you will need to evaluate, so as not to cover the little one too much.
However, we recommend that you always prepare and carry an emergency winter kit with you. It will include: cap, balaclava, gloves, scarf and a raincoat. Always keep it handy and use it even on days when the cold catches you off guard. By doing this, you will avoid colds, sore throats and fevers in a simple and effective way.
