Health & Nutrition Health and Nutrition - February 2018.edcoan.ir | Page 93

L
et germs be your kiddo’s
new companion. Sounds
weird? While most parents
will reminisce the childhood
they spent playing in the
rain or sunshine outside their
homes, it’s becoming a rarity
among children these days.
In this techno-savvy world,
kids are more likely to devote
their school vacations spending
hours on YouTube rather than
making mud pies. By keeping
a distance from Mother Nature
and trying not to get dirty, your
tiny munchkins may just be
missing out on more than just
creating memories…
Moreover, parents, these
days, dislike kids getting muddy,
as they worry that children may
fall prey to the infections they
might pick up while they play.
But parents need to understand
that it’s recommended for
children to play outdoors, bask
in the sun, run in the sand and
directly come in contact with
nature. When you let your child
get dirty, you make his/ her
immune system stronger and
help them better deal with
health issues later in life.
Below mentioned are things
parents should allow their kids
to do in order to give them
a healthy exposure to dirt
and germs.
1
Move outdoors: Let
your growing child step
out of the house and get in close
contact with the environment.
Allow your babies to enjoy
putting their hands and feet in
water, dig in the dirt, play in the
mud, pick up worms from ponds,
roll on the ground, catch frogs
and tadpoles.
2
Let them play in the
sand: Playing in the
sand helps pacify and calm down
a child. It also helps stimulate
imagination and creativity and
acts as a wonderful medium
of art. What’s more, outdoors
also give kids a little dose of the
required vitamin D which helps
prevent autoimmune illnesses.
3
Allow them to play
with pets: A significant
part of exposing your child to
the beneficial microbes is to
get them in touch with pets like
dogs and cats. Letting your dog/
cat come in close contact with
your child has a great possibility
of reducing his or her danger
of contracting unwanted pet-
related allergies in later life.
4
Don’t overdo the
laundry: Germs thrive
easily on apparels and excessive
laundry will do nothing but
kill them, thus doing no good
to the burgeoning immune
system of the baby. Sometimes,
it’s advisable for parents to
lend clothes a couple of good
wears prior to laundry.
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5
Ditch anti-bacterial
sanitizers and soaps: By
continuously using antiseptic
hand sanitizers and soaps, we
are unintentionally constraining
immune development in kids.
It’s advisable to stick to the good
old soap and water and evade
the practice of unnecessary
hand washing.
6
Go gardening with
your child: This is the
simplest way to let your child
get close to dirt. The presence
of various environmental
organisms will offer the immune
system all that it needs to
operate efficiently.
DR CHAITALI LADDAD
Founder & Director,
The Pediatric Network
HEALTH & NUTRITION February 2018 93