“He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything”
In the last two years, the world has changed immensely — the way we live, the way we look, the way we work, everything has taken a turn. It has also changed our outlook towards our health and our family’s wellbeing. In the current situation, children are at a higher risk of catching deadly diseases and viruses. Even the third wave of Covid-19 has been predicted to affect the health of children under the age of 18. Children in the development stage of their body and brain are highly prone to illnesses as compared to adults. Further, we are going to talk about a few simple tips we can follow to boost the immunity of our children.
Our body is a combination of different elements that determine our overall health, wellbeing and immunity against foreign material. To maintain optimum immunity in children, all these elements of the body should be well balanced.
1. Optimum Hours of Sleep according to Children’s Age
After a whole day’s hustle and bustle, a night of sound sleep is necessary for children. While we are sleeping, our body produces proteins called cytokines which help fight infection and viruses. So, for children, recommended sleep time according to their age is 10 to 13 hours every day for the children of 3 to 5 years of age, 9 to 11 hours of sleep for children who are between 6 to 13 years old, and minimum of 8 to 10 hours of sleep per day for children above the age of 13 years.
2. A Healthy and Well Balanced Diet that Includes All the Required Nutrients
Our immunity continuously changes with our growing age and food plays a major role in building and strengthening the immune system. Today, every child consumes a high amount of junk food. With inadequate diet and nutrient consumption, children are prone to catch infections more easily. Hence, we should encourage your children to eat the rainbow when it comes to vegetables and fruits. A child should eat more green and leafy vegetables and at least 2 seasonal fruits daily. We can also try out good vegan dishes or make their favourite junk food at home while giving it a healthy twist.
3. Daily Playful Physical Activity or a Simple Exercise Routine
Exercise, going out and play is as important to children as it is to adults. Exercise and outdoor games build muscles, give strength and helps in building better immunity.
Today due to the situation of lockdown for over a year now, we are all caged inside. Screentime of both children and adults has increased multifold, approximately 10 times more. Children’s physical activities have reduced to almost zero. Because of it, few short-term illnesses like irritation, sleep disorders, headaches, short-term memory loss, fatigue and laziness has been observed in children. It is not only the eyes that our computer screens are affecting. There is also an unseen threat that is surrounding us and our children. This threat of mobile phone and wifi radiation is causing the immune system to weaken and hence highly prone to getting infected by viruses and deadly diseases. Though we can really control the lockdown and pandemic, we can sure take steps that help us tackle the problems that might be attacking our immunity. Protecting ourselves from radiation from wireless communication gadgets may look like a small step now but it will go a long way in safeguarding our health and maintaining our wellbeing in the future.
Other things we can do to protect our children during this course of a global pandemic are mentioned below:
1. Inculcate Basic Hygiene Habits in Children at an Early Age
Hands are a house of bacteria and germs and often are responsible for causing cold, flu and various stomach infections. Develop a habit in your child to wash hands with soap before and after meals, after playing outside, after touching or playing with pets, and post using the washroom. Many scented soaps with different colours and cartoon characters are available in the market. Involving them in fun and interesting activities like letting them pick their favourite soap can help him/her develop a healthy hygiene habit.
2. Keep your Environment Clean for Your Toddlers
The strongest sense organ in toddlers is their sense of taste. We often see that when a toddler is given item, he immediately puts it in his mouth. It helps them identify things as what they might like or what they might not accept. Hence, keeping our environment clean is of utmost importance. Start by making sure you use liquid dish soap instead of a powder or bar as they might leave a residue on the utensils which may end in your child’s stomach. Apart from this, it is important to regularly sanitise all the toys and other hard surfaces that your child might come in contact with.
We can take care of all of the things mentioned above but what about the sources which are beyond our control? A small child may not be necessarily attending online classes or have high exposure to screens. However, it is impossible to make their radiation exposure zero. A child’s outer brain membrane is 4 times thinner than that of an adult. They can thus absorb more harmful radiation that may impact their brain development. These radiations are mainly from sources that are just beyond handheld gadgets like mobile towers, IoT devices, network boosters, or even your neighbour’s wifi.
Research has proven that constant exposure to wifi radiation can cause hypertension in children along with problems like insomnia, poor immunity, high fatigue, irritation, loss of diet, improper growth, and innumerable other health issues.
This arises a need for a passive product that takes care of the radiation in our children’s surroundings. Enviroglobe is one such unique award-winning protecting solution that safeguards your little ones from the ill effects of electromagnetic radiation from various Wi-Fi-enabled gadgets & IoT devices (internal and external) without compromising on the signal strength or connectivity.
Here are answers to a few common questions and their answers that parents can think about to give their child optimal care and protection!
Q. Does my child need to take multivitamins?
If your child’s eating habits are normal and his/her diet contains a balanced plate of all nutrients required, then a multivitamin isn’t necessary. Multivitamins should be given only after doctor recommendations because too many supplements can also be toxic for children.
Q. My child is a picky eater, what should I do?
Try to make different varieties of dishes, and make them try it when they are having a potluck party with their friends or in family gatherings. Children are less likely to be picky and more inclined to try new foods when they are with friends or in social gatherings. Involving them in the cooking process can also make them more interested in trying out different foods.
Q. Is exposure to gadgets and prolonged screen time bad for my child??
Excess screen time can create a lack of attention and extreme mood swings which may disrupt the learning capabilities of the child. Radiation from these gadgets is also likely to expose them to various other health problems which were discussed above. Make sure your phone or gadget is on airplane mode when you are giving it to your child.
