Keeping kids healthy during the fall season is like trying to finish a jigsaw puzzle when someone is always hiding the last piece. Once you find it, he takes the other piece from your reach. Almost impossible, especially if your kids go to kindergarten, playroom or school daily.

We’ve been solving the same jigsaw puzzle three times in a row this school year! Although it’s something you can never control, there are things you can do to boost your kid’s immune system and still keep them healthier, no matter the viruses. 

Germs are ok?

Parents freak out at the mention of the scary little monsters called germs. And it’s understandable. Keep in mind, though, that you cannot and should not protect your kids from everything at any time.

While kids picking up germs and getting sick is a nightmare, not every time should we scream around after all. And you know why? Our body produces antibodies to fight the virus so we don’t catch the infection next time.  

Keeping kids healthy/healthier.

However, kids need a little boost to fight the virus or bacteria easier and not catch them every time. Our little one fights it bravely on his own (although the second time, he got bacteria, so antibiotics had to jump in). But here’s what I make sure we do daily to boost his immune system and improve our health overall.

To be healthy, we need to eat healthily. I know serving healthy food to kids and making them eat can be tempting, but it’s not impossible. My friend’s kids never ate oatmeal and said that’s gross, but once they came to our house and saw my son eating blueberry oatmeal and enjoying it, they fell in love with one of the most nutritious breakfasts!

So, what should you feed them throughout the day that will boost their immune system? This is how I feed my 4-year-old, portions vary according to age (find the age guidelines here)!

1 Grain – 3 portions.
We start a day with a cereal meal, usually having oatmeal or whole-grain bread with jam on top. For lunch, we eat a protein quinoa salad or have whole grain bread slices aside from soup. Also, rice cakes with peanut butter are great for snacking!

2 Fruits and veggies – 4 to 5 portions.
You all know the importance! Fruits and veggies are superfoods filled with vitamins and minerals. Even though it sounds impossible to serve 5 healthy portions of these, it’s not! An example: banana bread for breakfast, an apple for a snack, salad + peas soup for lunch and grapes for the second snack. See?!

3 Protein – 3 portions.
Kids need it to grow strong, and it’s also easy to serve them protein. Nuts for a snack, fish for lunch, boiled eggs for dinner. Protein is the building block of a child’s muscles, skin, enzymes, and hormones.

4 Dairy – 2 to 3 portions.
We’re all aware of the importance of calcium for healthy teeth and bones. You can serve a cheesy toast for breakfast and offer a glass of warm milk for dinner, and it should be enough.

5 Fats – 2 small portions.
Fats are important for the development of your child’s brain. Include healthy fats such as avocado, olive oil, nuts or salmon in their diet regularly.

Of course, it’s not possible to completely avoid junk food when it’s everywhere. On commercials, in cartoons, on streets, in shops and in that other kid’s hand. My son started kindergarten this year. I’m guessing there’s junk food everywhere because ever since then, he’s been asking for different snacks than usual.

Luckily, he doesn’t fancy the taste because we did everything we could to nurture his taste in healthy food at an early age. However, there are some junk foods he enjoys eating, and we try to minimize his wanting those since junk food is only empty calories. Here’s how to do that!

1 Don’t buy junk food too much.
It’s ok to treat your kids once in a while and buy them chocolate if they ask for it sometimes, but cut it minimal. If they don’t see it, the less chance that they’ll want it.

2 Put fruit all over the house.
In the fridge, on the kitchen table, in the living room. Kids love fruit, and when they get hungry, if they see the variety of colours everywhere, they’ll want to eat some of that!

3 Don’t be so strict.
What you prohibit, they want even more. So be the cool parent and allow chocolate when possible and when they want it so bad. But also, surprise them on your own with a treat they love once in a while.

4 No in-between meals.
Have a meal routine. Your kid should have breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner at the same time every day. Otherwise, he’ll ask for in-between meals, and usually, he’ll ask for sweets.

5 Talk about healthy food with love.
They won’t fall in love with the broccoli if you start talking about the boring nutritious facts about it. But they will love it if you show how passionate you are about it and how delicious it can be.

You can also try and give your kids a chance to bake food with you and share some funny stories from your childhood, that one when broccoli and carrot killed the viruses and made you feel better. Children also love the hidden veggies food (broccoli burgers are so kid-approved!).

Water and other liquids, but watery food as well, is so important. 60% of body weight is water, but kids don’t care about the numbers, and sometimes they don’t care about the liquid intake. Being too busy while playing, investigating and learning, they forget to ask for it.

I make sure to stop dehydration by doing these simple things every day:
1 I regularly fill my son’s reusable water bottle (always make sure that it is BPA free – read this) and put it somewhere he can easily access it anytime.
2 I always bring water, even when we’re off for 15 minutes.
3 There’s fruit everywhere, and he usually eats some of that as a snack. He likes squeezed lemon and orange juice too.
4 Lunch and dinner always contain vegetables high in water.

Our kids are lucky for those gym playgrounds where they can burn the extra energy, have fun and improve their health! Apart from that, you can encourage your kids to dance, race with you, play hide and seek or do yoga.

Watching me do yoga, my son has expressed the courage to join me on a yoga journey. He doesn’t exercise with me every time, but it feels nice to be a good role model. They learn from our experiences, so it’s great to teach and remind them to take care of their bodies, and it’s also another great way of keeping kids healthy.

A simple 15-minute walk around the neighbourhood is better than lying on the couch all day. Fresh air and vitamin D are a great team for boosting the immune system and growing stronger to fight viruses.

Children are happy when they’re exploring and happiness is a sign of healthy children. Now is the perfect time to go on a scavenger hunt too!

Do you know the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child? Well, my recommendation! The book just breaks the unfair cycle of people blaming mothers for wanting their babies and kids to sleep so bad.

Firstly, moms want their children to have a good night’s sleep for health benefits. Keeping kids healthy is not easy, and it’s even harder to teach them to sleep on their own. Secondly, even when a mom has a life to live after putting kids to bed – she’s not selfish. Only moms who take care of themselves raise kids who do the same.

So, why is a proper sleep routine important for keeping kids healthy, according to the book?

1 It helps with concentration, and there are fewer meltdowns.
2 Brain develops healthily and grows synapses.
3 It prevents injuries and is good for the skin.
4 Kids who sleep enough fight viruses quickly.
5 Sleep prevents obesity because it boosts metabolism and suppresses crankiness.

It breaks my heart to see children using phones in the playground. I don’t want these unhealthy childhood memories for my son. Screens bring so much damage to the brain and eyes and can contribute to obesity and negative self-image.

I don’t strictly limit the screen time, but our days usually have all sorts of activities throughout, so he doesn’t ask for it that much. Usually, 20 minutes per day!

I found this little game on Pinterest, and I think it’s a great one to teach younger kiddos what germs are and how water and soap wash them away. When our son was at his “terrible twos”, washing his hands and teeth still wasn’t a part of his routine, partly because he wanted to do it all by himself but was too young to do it properly.

Now that he’s four, it’s a natural process to wash hands whenever it is needed. There are many ways to teach your kids about the importance of washing hands, such as through these germs activities or books.

Whenever we’re going through a new stage, we find the best solution books since they tell the story in a funny, cute way and kids feel emotions with the funny, cute characters. There’s a variety of fun educational books, but our favourite about this topic is by Tony Ross featuring the little princess called I Don’t Want to Wash my Hands. We’re fans of the bed situation book from the collection too!

My husband and I have said no to antibiotics in all shapes many times before. We give our son a chance to fight the virus and stay up all night monitoring how he’s feeling.

This year, we’ve finally found a doctor who shares the same opinion and always nurtures our son’s health. Unless it’s not necessary, he doesn’t prescribe medications. Of course, it’s not always possible, but whenever it is, remember that it’s important to give a chance to grow antibodies.

You can also add up some immune boosting gummies.

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