If You’re Doing At Least 8 of These 10 Things, We Guarantee Your Kids Will Rarely Fall ill

Highly successful people don’t do different things, they do things differently. The same can be said about people who rarely fall ill. While there is some amount of genetics involved in this (people who’ve been blessed with a good constitution are able to better ward off diseases and illnesses), there are a certain set of habits that all of us can adopt to keep ourselves fit.

Here are some highly-effective habits of strong parents and children that are a must for everyone to follow. After all, when it comes to any kind of disease or illness, prevention is always better than cure, right?

10 Things You Do as a Mother That Safeguard Your Child’s Health

The following tricks to prevent kids from getting sick are sure to make life easy for you, and keep most health problems at bay! We guarantee that if you follow at least 80% of this list, your kids will be safeguarded from most common infections.

1. You Serve Clean, Healthy Food to Kids

We are the food we eat, and it is important to eat good food in order to stay fit. Food is closely linked to not just our overall health and well-being, it is also associated with good immunity. Hidden hunger arising from nutrient deficiencies never occurs overnight, they are a result of sustained poor intake of the nutrient. A well-balanced diet of home-cooked food that meets all daily nutrient requirements of your child will help them grow at an optimum pace, and will also make their body strong from within.

2. You Limit Fast Food Consumption

It is not enough to only eat good food; it is also equally important to not eat junk or fast food.

WATCH: Top 10 Bad Effects of Fast Food on Health

Key Takeaway: From obesity, heart diseases, diabetes, to loss of appetite, increased stress levels, and nutrient deficiencies, fast foods bring along a host of health problems that significantly reduce the quality of life, and make way for other illnesses to enter your life.

Junk food and fast food should be avoided for all the above reasons. However, the most significant reason to give up junk or fast food is the fact that it provides no nutrition to the body. Why would you want to eat or feed your child something that is not really nourishing the body?

3. You Curb Sugar Consumption and Stick to Natural Sugar

Children actually end up eating a lot of sugar. Every candy, chocolate, cake or pastry that your child eats is full of sugar, and consuming high-sugar foods can be a recipe for disaster. From dental problems and hyperglycaemia, to behavioural problems such as anxiety and temper tantrums, too much sugar can wreak havoc on your child’s body.

What’s most interesting to note here is how quickly and easily you can adopt the benefits of cutting down on your child’s sugar intake. According to a study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco last year, simply cutting down on ‘added sugar’ from the diet of obese children lead to improvement in there LDL levels (i.e. bad cholesterol), triglycerides level, as well as blood pressure in just nine days. (Added sugar here refers to high fructose corn syrup and sucrose specifically.)

However, children are young and will crave sweet! At such times, it is important you make a healthy choice. Offer them natural sugar – such as that in fresh fruits, milk, etc. and stay away from products that have added sugar in them in the form of sucrose, dextrose, starch, corn syrup, etc.

4. You Ensure the Kids Get Daily Exercise

Exercise should be made into a habit, and the best time to inculcate habits is when you are a child. Children who exercise regularly not only rarely fall ill, they are also able to sleep better, perform better at school, and are able to remain optimistic through life.

But what is the exact connection between exercise and immunity? Exercise promotes the circulation of lymphatic fluid, which carries lymphocytes – the white cells that fight off diseases and infections. So if you get lazy, so is your immune system going to, making you more prone to infections.

5. Your Kids Maintain Good Personal Hygiene Indoors & Outdoors

One of the important steps in keeping diseases at bay is to maintain a high degree of personal hygiene. Every child must be made to brush their teeth, have a bath, and comb their hair every day. Children should also be encouraged to wash their hands when they come home after spending time outdoors, before eating food, and before touching their face or private parts. They should be discouraged from sharing their personal belongings, especially towels, handkerchiefs, napkins, etc.

While stepping out of the house, children should dress appropriately, keeping the weather in mind. They should wear a good moisturiser and a good mosquito repellent that offers effective protection against mosquitoes. If you do not want to use any products on their skin, you can use a fabric roll-on like Good knight’s Fabric Roll-On. With just 4 dots of the completely natural product on your child’s clothes, you can protect them from mosquitoes for up to eight hours. This product makes a good mosquito repellent for children during all outdoor-time.

6. You Establish a Daily Routine and Break-time for Children

On the face of it, a regular daily routine might seem like the last thing related to a good immune system. However, there is a lot that a proper well-defined daily routine can do to keep you healthy and disease free. First up, it makes you and your body disciplined. Any new habits you want to inculcate can be worked into your routine and become easy to develop.

Daily routines also regulate the body’s sleep, hunger, bowel movement, and other patterns. Finally, they make us value our break-time, and use it constructively instead of just sitting in front of the TV! Especially with the increased amount of time that children are spending on screens, this becomes a very important point.

7. You Help Your Kids Get Adequate Sleep

All the body’s wear and tear is compensated for during sleep when different restorative processes help rejuvenate both the physical body and the mind. Effects of poor quality sleep and/or lack of sleep can be serious and long-lasting, affecting all walks of life – from poor performance at work or school to compromised immunity, weight gain, and many more. Getting enough sleep is as important as all the points above, to keep illness away!

Make sure you and your child get 8 hours of undisturbed sleep. Do not eat or drink one hour before going to bed, no cell phones, and ensure you use a good mosquito repellent. However, if your child is too young, vapours from chemical-based repellents can trouble them. Instead, dab 4 dots of GoodKnight Fabric Roll-On onto their cots to repel mosquitoes. It is completely natural and child-safe. Also, keep windows closed in the evenings, use a mosquito net, and keep the baby’s room closed through the day, when not in use.

8. Your House is Clean and Free of Mosquito-Breeding Spots

A clean house keeps most health problems and illnesses away. Start with getting rid of things you’ve not used for more than 6 months. Move and shift things around; never let them sit and catch dust. Pay special attention to stored water and the corners of rooms that are inaccessible – these are favourite places for mosquitoes to breed, and we all know that mosquitoes are our biggest fear and worst enemies! They spread diseases like dengue, malaria, etc., that take a very serious toll on children’s health. Keeping these places clean is a primary step towards mosquito protection.

9. You Take the Kids for Regular Doctor’s Check-ups

While we do everything we can to ensure all the above tips, it is always a good idea to get regular doctor’s check-ups done for all family members periodically – once every 3 months can be a good period. Get routine blood tests done, check for nutrient deficiencies and check their growth rate. A slowed down growth rate is often indicative of a serious health problem. A lot of things can be revealed by a doctor’s report that may not be evident to us. Also never disregard any symptoms of an illness. Fevers, colds, insect bites, etc., should all be given due attention.

10. You and the Kids Have Fun and Socialise

Finally, don’t take life too seriously! It has been reported that people who laugh more, engage in social activities on a regular basis, and have ample of interaction with other people in the real world (and not virtually), tend to live longer, have a better quality of life, and are able to ward off most coronary, hepatic, stress-related and lifestyle diseases. So remember to keep calm and chill out! Do not cause undue stress for your child over their grades, homework, and classes. Ensure you spend time together as a family. Hug each other, laugh together, and cuddle at bed-time.

Positive Impact of Socialising on Overall Health

Probably the first thing we think of when we are feeling down is calling a friend or stepping out. With changing times though, this is changing too; more and more of us are turning to social media instead of turning to another person.

However, according to a 2012 study carried out by the University College Dublin, it is increased social interaction that actually help to alleviate symptoms of depression. Social interactions that participants of this study engaged in included going for a movie, concert or play, going out for coffee or to eat, and enjoying a conversation on such outings.

Additionally, earlier this year, a study carried out in UK by Peter Howley and Christopher Boyce determined that “use of social networking websites is negatively associated with mental health”.

These and other similar studies point to the importance of face-to-face social contact and how it is important in our mental well-being. We all already know how mental and physical health is closely linked and interdependent. As a new-age 21st century mother, it is imperative that you not only encourage but foster social interactions for your child and family! A happy child is a healthy child.

So these are some of the ways to prevent getting sick. These may seem like simple measures, but these lifestyle changes will ensure you remain fit and develop a strong immunity. This, in turn, will protect you and your children from being vulnerable to infections.

Source:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021915016302933
http://www.ucd.ie/news/2012/06JUN12/130612-Socialising-helps-to-alleviate-symptoms-of-depression.html