The human body is absolutely incredible at protecting itself from disease and infection. The average person’s immune system will fight off minor issues on a daily basis without them even taking notice. Your immune system isn’t fully developed when you’re born though, it is something that needs to develop over time. Building immunities to disease is part of growing up as your body learns to fight things off as they are encountered. This is why vaccinations are essentially tiny doses of the diseases that they are trying to immunise against.
When it comes to toddler immunity, you need to start building your child’s defence system as soon as you can. The immune system needs to face challenges to be able to start learning and developing strategies to keep the body healthy. This means allowing your little one to do things you may think twice about. You have to think long term when it comes to their health, and building an immune system is the biggest piece of the puzzle.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the ways in which you can help to strengthen your toddler’s immune system.
Let The Kids Play
One thing that is the same regardless of where you are in the world is that kids are going to want to play. They seem to have endless amounts of energy and it needs to be burned off. As a parent, you need to let the kids get outside and get dirty. By doing this they will most likely come across all kinds of common bacteria and infections on a small scale that will slowly help them build immunities. If you keep your kids protected and indoors they will never get a chance to experience any of these things, which could lead to more serious health issues down the road.
Sanitise In Moderation
Just about every person in the world has seen these things while shopping – disinfectant wipes. While they are a godsend in some regards, they are vigorously overused by some parents, which can actually lead to problems. Of course, we all want to keep our children clean and healthy but it can very easily be overdone. Constantly cleaning and disinfecting every little thing your child touches will never give them a chance to come into contact with common viruses. As stated previously, this will only lead to a weak immune system and health issues further on in life.
Sleep Is Essential
Another easy way to help boost your toddler’s overall health and their immune system is to make sure they get the proper amount of sleep every single night. It has been proven that the right amount of sleep promotes proper development in all areas, including immunities. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to have set bedtimes every night that includes a relaxing routine to help get them to sleep quickly. If your child gets the recommended amount of rest every night they will be healthier, happier, and have a much more active immune system.
Just Let Kids Be Kids
Building immunities and resistances is not the most complicated thing in the world, it just takes some common sense and little a bit of planning. Your main concern here is not to be too overprotective of your children so that they can get exposed to various bacteria and common viruses. You have to give your child a fighting chance by putting them out there in the world. Take our advice and let your little one get their hands dirty from time to time and to simply play. Besides, you’ll be too busy cleaning the handprints off the walls!
