Is my child healthy enough? Why do they get sick so often? How should I be supporting their immune system? These are common questions that run through many parent’s heads when thinking of their child’s health. Every parent wants the best for their child and a key factor is the strength of their immune system. Let’s learn a little bit about what an immune system is.
The immune system protects our bodies and is made up of cells, tissues, and organs that help fight off invaders in the body. This can include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and toxins. The immune system is essential when it comes to fighting off COVID-19 and other sicknesses such as cancer. There are two types of immune systems, one that you are born with and one that you acquire after your body is exposed to different organisms.1
There are many ways in which you can strengthen your child’s immune system so that it can fight off those invaders in the body. One of the most important ways to boost your child’s immune system is to teach them the importance of handwashing at a very young age. This will help them get into a habit of it and can reduce the chance of them spreading infections after touching something. For children, proper handwashing techniques include getting their hands wet and soapy, scrub them while singing the happy birthday song twice or 20 seconds, rinsing, and then dry them with a paper towel. Another method that will support a child’s immune system is making sure they get an adequate amount of sleep at night. Health.clevelandclinic.org has sleep requirements for children at varying ages.2
When a child doesn’t get enough sleep, it prevents the body from being able to fight off infection. Another great way to support your child’s immune system is to encourage a healthy diet. Keeping your child’s plate colorful with fruits and vegetables is important along with whole grains and minimizing processed foods. Eating a well-balanced diet will make sure that your child is getting vitamins and minerals to help support their immune system.2 MyPlate is a great resource for understanding a well-balanced diet that focuses on whole fruits, varying vegetables, making half the grains whole grains, varying proteins, and moving to low-fat or fat-free dairy milk and yogurt.3
Even if you already knew all of these things and enforce them, your child still might be getting sick frequently and here are some signs and symptoms that may indicate your child needs to see their pediatrician: 4
- They constantly have a cold
- They have stomach troubles
- They are experiencing diarrhea or constipation
- Their cuts and scrapes take a prolonged period of time to heal
- They develop frequent infections such as ear infections or pneumonia
- They feel tired all the time
Never hesitate to reach out to your child’s pediatrician if you have questions about their immune system. Having a strong immune system is very important and crucial in your child’s life and well-being. Proper handwashing, adequate sleep, and having a well-balanced diet are all ways to support and strengthen your child’s immune system.
By Addie Forbord, Aramark Dietetic Intern
References
- Johns Hopkins Medicine, The Immune System. Accessed October 1, 2021
- Team, Children’s Health. 5 Ways to Boost Your Child’s Immune System for Life. Published August 6, 2021. Accessed October 1, 2021
- What’s on Your Plate?. Accessed October 4, 2021
- Hasan, Nadia. 6 Signs You Have a Weakened Immune System. Published March, 23 2020. Accessed October 1, 2021