kids health Archives

August 13, 2019 By Saba Mirza 1 Comment

6 Ways To Keep Your Kids From Falling Sick During Monsoon

You can’t deny the fact that children love the monsoon. The sheer joy of getting drenched or playing a game of football on a mucky field is an out of the world experience for them. Whereas for parents, it brings in a little worry. How can you keep your kid away from falling sick during monsoons?

During this season, you can often find an increased rush at a paediatrician’s clinic and pharmacies while attendance at school slowly drops. Many new parents aren’t aware that with a few disciplinary measures and conscious effort, we can keep our kids from falling sick and enjoy the monsoon to the fullest.

Here are a few simple yet effective measures and home remedies to help you keep your kids from falling sick.

1. Keep Them Hydrated

Frequent intake of water is needed to flush the toxins accumulated in the body down. Ensure that your kids are drinking clean, filtered water. Contaminated water is the most common reason for monsoon infections. Keep their sippers and water bottles ready with boiled or filtered water well within their reach. If the weather is cold, encourage them to drink lukewarm water as cold water can cause mucosal spam in the respiratory muscles which can make it prone to various respiratory disorders like throat infections, cold, cough, etc.

2. Appropriate Clothing and Footwear

Plan their outfits according to the weather. For instance, during humid days, make them wear loose cotton clothes. This will help their skin breathe without obstructing sweat glands. On cold, rainy days, warm clothing is a must. For a rainy outing, apart from an umbrella and a raincoat, don’t forget to make them wear knee or calf-length gumboots which can prevent their feet from catching infections from collected rainwater on the road or the park.

3. Keep Your House Free of Mosquitoes

Along with netting your windows and doors, ensure that you avoid any kind of water logging or storage in and around your house. This includes swimming pools, flowerpots, coolers, etc. Accumulated water is the most common breeding ground for mosquitoes. This can help your kid steer clear of dengue and malaria which are common during monsoons.

4. Nutritious, Well-Balanced Meals and Healthy Snacks

Restrict the intake of street food as much as possible. Not just street food but also ordering from restaurants as rampant incorporation of infected vegetables or infected water are very high during this season. These are primary sources of illnesses during monsoon. Give your kids freshly made, home-cooked food and nutritious monsoon snacks such as steamy masala corn, roasted groundnuts, sandwiches, etc. You can also opt for healthy snacking options designed specifically for kids from the GOQii Health Store within the GOQii App.

5. Maintain Personal Hygiene

Regular baths, cutting nails, keeping yourself as well as the kids dry and cleaning/washing the hands before eating are basics. Apart from that, keep the house clean and sanitised at all times. These small measures go a long way in keeping monsoon bacteria and viruses away!

6. Boost Immunity With Superfoods

Include Vitamin C rich food daily in your kids routine. Squeeze a lemon in their curries or snacks. Give them steamed/stir-fried sprouted pulses as snacks. Make their meals and snacks vibrant i.e. colourful veggies such as cucumber, carrot, tomatoes and seasonal fruits for antioxidant power! Antioxidants in these will help destroy harmful toxins accumulated in the body. More colour in food means higher detoxification rate and a stronger defence against infections.

Instead of getting attracted towards commercial probiotics, look for the richest probiotic in your kitchen. Give them curd along with meals. Blend it to make Lassi or a smoothie with fruits. Don’t forget to incorporate Turmeric Milk at bed-time as Turmeric is an effective anti-inflammatory agent and an immunity booster.

Ginger, which is a naturally potent antibiotic, antiviral, is very effective in fighting the infections of the gut such as Typhoid. Give it mixed with honey or boiled in water with Tulsi (Holy Basil) and mint leaves. Asafoetida (Hing) is also very effective in strengthening the gut health and treating different gastrointestinal infections. Add it to Pulses (Dal), curries or while cooking the vegetables.

We hope these tips to keep your kids from falling sick this monsoon were helpful! Do you have special remedies you use to help your kid recover or stay healthy? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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May 22, 2019 By Sanjana Shah Leave a Comment

Link Between Sugary Foods, Mood and Behavior in Children

A perfect balanced diet of carbs, proteins, essential fats, vitamins and minerals is important during the growing age of the child. It is an ongoing research on whether food intake is really linked to a child’s behaviour and mood.

Below are the effects of healthy and unhealthy eating habits on the mood and behaviour of a child.

Healthy Eating Habits (Includes a balanced diet)

Better concentration
Improved learning skills
High grasping power
Socially active in making friends, prefers to play in groups

Unhealthy Eating Habits (Includes consumption of sugary food, preservative containing food, food colouring foods)

Lack of concentration in any given task
Hyperactive
Mood swings
Nutritional Deficiencies

We tend to correlate the word ‘kids’ with chocolates, ice creams, candies and cakes, etc.. The basic ingredient in these items is sugar!

Sugar in Relation to Nutrition

Sugars are simple carbohydrates that easily get absorbed in blood glucose. Sugar is an empty calorie food i.e it has no nutrients and provides only energy.

Sugars have various forms like white sugar, brown sugar, honey and corn syrup. It’s a myth that jaggery, honey and brown sugar are better off than white sugar. Calories coming from them are same. The only difference is that white sugar is absorbed faster in the bloodstream than other sources.

Fruits naturally contain fructose with fiber which makes you feel fuller and are rich in water content, vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, colas or sugar candies contains only fructose syrup which disrupts the brain signalling of being full and the child feels hungry again

Hidden Sugars in Food

It means the packet of food doesn’t show the word Sugar on the ingredient list but still contains sugar labelled as other names such as dextrose, dextrin, corn syrup, or barley malt.

When consumed more than the required amounts and on a daily basis, Sugar affects various parts of the body and mind:

Teeth (Tooth Cavities): Bacteria live on sugar medium. When kids don’t brush well or drink water after eating, bacteria tends to overgrow, which in turn leads to cavities and tooth decay.
Brain: Impaired ability to memorise things, as the brain doesn’t get the right amount of nutrients to function.
Behavior: Sugar numbs the neurons in the brain, shortens a child’s attention span and makes them hyperactive.
Immunity: Constant bouts of cold and cough makes it difficult to sleep at night.
Metabolism: A child is at a higher risk of being obese and developing long term diseases like Diabetes.
Hormonal: Being in the growing stage, they are more prone to hormonal issues like acne, early onset of puberty, dandruff, skin issues, impaired growth.
Worms: Thread worms are caused due to bacteria thrive on sugar if the intake is high.

How to Minimize Sugar Dependence

As parents, we need to change our attitude of rewarding kids with sugar-rich foods every time they complete a task or behave well.
Fix up a Treat day like once a week or fortnightly wherein only on that day they can eat their favourite chocolate, cakes or candies
Substitute ready to drink fruit beverages with homemade smoothies or freshly prepared pulp fruit juice
Train them to choose healthy items like high fiber biscuits instead of cream-based biscuits
Prepare desserts at home with less sugar and store it. This way you minimize the chances of buying them from a shop
Be gradual and change one habit at a time. Don’t be adamant on changing the habits all at once.

How to Encourage Healthy Eating Habits

Make them learn all the food groups – vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses, dairy. Either draw it on a paper or show them the real foods. Ask them to pick up the ones they want to eat for that particular day. This way, you can plan for 2-3 days in advance.
Usually, unhealthy eating habits make them vitamin and mineral deficient. So consult your doctor and start the appropriate supplements for it.
Prepare attractive snacking ideas in their tiffin boxes like a veggie stuffed roll, colourful sandwich, idlis made with spinach puree or tricolour idlis.
Remember the negative effects of unhealthy eating don’t show up immediately. It’s a long term consequence. But if the child’s health is compromised with headaches, asthma, cold/cough then the negative effects are seen in the short term.

Another important factor is being intolerant to certain food items like dairy products ( casein) or gluten (wheat), which may make them aggressive, cranky and/or fussy. Common food allergens like soy, peanuts, corn and nuts also adversely affect the behaviour of the child in a negative way.

It is always better to read labels of food packets before purchasing. Be aware of what you and your kids are consuming. In case of doubts, do consult the doctor or nutritionist.