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6 Ways To Keep Your Kids From Falling Sick During Monsoon

keep kids from falling sick

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 kids from falling sick during monsoons?

During this season, you can often find an increased rush at a pediatrician’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.

Tips To Keep Your Kids From Falling Sick During Monsoon

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 out. 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 sanitized 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 kid’s 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 defense 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, a naturally potent antibiotic and 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 gut health and treating different gastrointestinal infections. Add it to Pulses (Dal), curries or while cooking 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 kids recover or stay healthy? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

To help your child get healthier and monitor their vitals on the go, you can opt for the GOQii Smart Vital Junior. It helps you track their vitals, step count, sleep patterns, etc. and you also get a personal coach who can monitor these activities and suggest changes. Explore all the features of the Smart Vital Junior here: https://store.goqii.com/smartvitaljr

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Effective Tips To Motivate Your Child To Exercise

motivate your child to exerciseObesity in children has become a common occurrence. At an age when the body needs to be built in a healthy way, diseases like obesity become a risk for a healthy future. As per Indian culture, till the child comes of age, practically all the decisions of their life are taken by their parents. In such a scenario, if the parents themselves do not know the importance of a healthy lifestyle, how will they encourage their children to follow it? So, before children, parents need to be educated regarding the importance of exercise for children. As these formative years are the building blocks for a healthy lifestyle, it is important to guide and motivate your child to exercise. 

How Does Exercise Help Children? 

Physical activity helps children sleep better and handle physical as well as emotional challenges more effectively resulting in control/check of weight, hypertension, cholesterol, sugar and also chronic diseases like cancer and anxiety. It further improves psychological well being, self-confidence and self-esteem. Training children to exercise regularly at an early age helps them grow up to be disciplined adults. 

Tips To Motivate Your Child To Exercise 

The most effective way to train children to exercise is by practicing what we preach and be a role model by including regular physical activity in our own lives. 

  • Besides arranging family picnics, hiking expeditions, morning/evening walks and other sports and games, one can also add activity by walking or riding bicycles instead of driving, using stairs instead of elevators, helping in housework and gardening.
  • Another effective way to encourage children to get active is by praising them for their efforts. Instead of making them compete, they should be encouraged to cooperate with others and excel in their own records, as competition with others can lead to teasing, bullying and a sense of public failure and embarrassment. Children are more sensitive than average grownups and need all the support and encouragement to try again once they fumble or fail, which is a common phenomenon in case of children. Instead of nagging or negative comments, parents should become their cheerleaders. 
  • Children love the company of their friends; it is a good idea to encourage them to invite their like minded friends over for a game or an excursion. If a child likes a team sport, they should be encouraged for the same. But here too, the focus should be on fitness, fun and learning new skills and not on competition as this can remove the fun from the activity and many children get discouraged by it.
  • Exercise and activity should come as a reward after a homework well done rather than as punishment by forcing a child to run laps or do pushups after a mistake or some mischief played by them as this may backfire and the child may start hating exercise and activity. 
  • Often children are so overburdened with homework, private tuitions, and other planned activities that they do not have time for physical activity of their own choice. So think of adding some activity of their choice as an informal fun game rather than a training session. 
  • A variety of games and sports equipment should be left on hand, like an assortment of balls, hula-hoops, and jump ropes, etc. this can make children enjoy the games and activities for hours. 
  • If a child is lazy, they should be given incentives like a favorite food or book for an hour’s activity on a regular basis as this could be a great motivating factor.  

We hope the above suggestions help you motivate your child to exercise. As an incentive to exercise and to monitor their health, you can also gift them the GOQii Smart Vital Jr. which could be a huge motivational factor for your child to take their health seriously. With a personal coach and a pediatrician on board, you can rest assured that your child’s health is in safe hands!

For more tips of kid’s health and nutrition, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to sessions by experts on GOQii Play. For more effective tips on kid’s health, weight loss, home workouts, etc. speak directly to your GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr   

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Healthy Recipes For Kids: Healthy Twist on Snacks & Sweets

Healthy Recipes For KidsAs mentioned in the previous article of Healthy Recipes For Kids, We spoke about the aspects of healthy eating for children not being different from adults. We need the right nutrients in the right quantities. Here, we’ve got some healthy recipes for a snack and a sweet that we’re sure your child will enjoy. 

Healthy Recipes For Kids

1. Healthy Mathari 

mathariWhat you will need: 

  • Wheat flour – 200 gm
  • Roasted Gram flour – 50 gm
  • Amaranth seed flour – 50 gm
  • Semolina – 20 gm
  • Desi ghee – 4 tbsp
  • Salt – a per taste
  • Dry fenugreek leaves – ½ tsp
  • Asafetida (Hing)  – 1/4th tsp
  • Roasted Muskmelon seeds powder – 2 tsp
  • Roasted Sunflower seeds powder – 2 tsp
  • Carom seeds – 1 tsp

Method of preparation:

  1. Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl and add hot melted ghee. Gently mix all the ingredients until ghee spreads all over the flour.
  2. Knead the dough with lukewarm milk to provide a soft texture
  3. Keep it aside for half an hour.
  4. Roll out a big chapati and cut desired shapes with a cookie cutter as it appeals to kids.
  5. These Mathari or salted cookies can be baked or fried on a low flame.
  6. These serve as a good snack at the evening hours with milk, juices or smoothies.

2. Jaggery Protein Chikki/Laddoo

healthy recipes for kidsWhat you will need:

  • Almonds – 50 gm
  • Walnuts – 50 gm
  • Sunflower seeds – 20 gm
  • Pumpkin seeds – 20 gm
  • Muskmelon seeds – 20 gm
  • Fox nuts – 50 gm
  • Rolled oats – 30 gm
  • Dates – 6-7 in number
  • Jaggery – 200 gm
  • White pepper powder – ½ tsp
  • Poppy seeds – 30 gm

Method of preparation

  1. Roast all the ingredients separately without jaggery, dates & pepper powder
  2. Make a coarse powder by adding dates 
  3. Melt jaggery on low flame. Once melted, start adding the white pepper powder
  4. Mix all ingredients gently
  5. Ladoos can be rolled from this mixture on slight cooling or chikki can be made by spreading the mixture on greased plate.
  6. These high protein chikkis or ladoos can be combined with breakfast or the evening snack

Benefits of These Recipes 

  • These matharis are rich in protein and contain seeds. Seeds are a compact source of many nutrients and generally kids don’t want to eat these seeds, so this is an easier way to get your kids to eat them.
  • Jaggery laddoo or chikki is a power pack compact source of many nutrients, rich in protein, iron and white pepper powder is very good for the eyes.
  • These snacks are much much better than the usual chips, mixtures and other unhealthy snacks. 

We hope you enjoy these Healthy Recipes For Kids. Do try them out, upload your pics on social media or the GOQii Arena and tag us! For more healthy recipes, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to cooking sessions on GOQii Play. 

To get more advice on recipes, nutrition and diet tips for kids, subscribe to GOQii and ask your GOQii Coach: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr 

Eat Healthy, Stay Home, Stay Safe and #BeTheForce

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Healthy Recipes For Kids: Healthy Twist On Pizza & Rolls

healthy recipes for kids

There is a saying that “In all this world, there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child,” by L. Frank Baum. We can define happiness in many terms but for a child, a healthy child is the happiest one. Healthy eating is very important for the overall growth and development of a child. Albeit, it is not a one off process, it has to develop from early childhood. It protects children from many chronic diseases, builds immunity and keeps them happy and healthy in the long run. Aspects of healthy eating for children are not different from adults. Both need the right nutrients in the right quantities. Keeping that in mind, here are some healthy recipes for kids with a twist! 

Healthy Recipes For Kids

1. Healthy Pizza 

What You Will Need For Dough: 

  • Wheat flour – 150 gm
  • Boiled & mashed Spinach – 50 gm
  • Boiled & mashed beetroot – 50 gm
  • Oil – 2 tsp
  • Salt – ½ tsp

For dressing:

  • Hung curd – 50 gm
  • Tomato sauce – 50 gm
  • Mixed herbs – 1 tsp
  • Grated carrot – 50 gm
  • Chopped capsicum – 50 gm
  • Boiled chopped corns – 50 gm
  • Finely chopped pieces of Cottage cheese – 100 gm

Method of Preparation

  1. Prepare two dough, one of spinach & other of beetroot by rolling out slightly two big & thick chapattis. These chapatis can be baked or can be cooked like normal one but partially.
  2. Spread one layer of fresh hung curd and one layer of tomato sauce over it.
  3. Spread all the veggies one by one in an interesting manner that appeals to kids.
  4. Sprinkle mixed herbs, salt and some cheese on top of it.
  5. Now this chapati pizza can be cooked/baked in a kadai or an oven for 4-5 min.
  6. Enjoy hot with hung curd sauce or tomato sauce.

2. Tangy Protein Rolls 

What You Will Need:

  • Overnight soaked moong dal – 100 gm
  • Rice Flour – 2 tsp
  • Boiled potato – 2 in no.
  • Boiled & mashed peas – 50 gm
  • Cottage cheese – 100 gm
  • Grated carrot – 100 gm
  • Finely chopped capsicum (all colors) – 100 gm
  • Finely chopped onion – 50 gm
  • Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
  • Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
  • Curry leaves – 6-7 in no.
  • Sesame seeds – 1 tsp
  • Dry mango powder – ½ tsp
  • Grated fresh coconut – 1-2 tsp
  • Chopped Cashew and raisins – 1 tsp
  • Tomato sauce – 2-3 tsp
  • Salt – ½ tsp
  • Oil – 2-3 tsp

Method of preparation:

  1. Grind soaked moong daal to a coarse paste and add rice flour and after mixing well, keep it aside for 5-10 min.
  2. In a pan add oil, cumin & mustard seeds, curry leaves and chopped onion. Sauté for a while till it becomes slightly pink in color.
  3. Add all the veggies one by one, dry mango powder, salt, grated coconut, sesame seeds, chopped nuts and properly mix all the ingredients for 2-3 mins.
  4. Roll out the veggie mixture in the form of hotdogs.
  5. Make chilla out of moong dal mixture and put one veggie hot dog in between, apply some tomato sauce and roll out the chilla and it’s ready to curb evening hunger pangs! 

Health Benefits Of These Recipes 

  • These are homemade and are absolutely safe for kids.
  • Pizza is junk and consists of blank calories but this one is super healthy as it consists of many colorful veggies, provides vitamins & minerals and wheat flour chapati with spinach & beetroot is always a healthy option!
  • In spite of many sauces, if hung curd and tomato sauce is used, it is absolutely good for health.
  • Moong dal cheela & sesame seeds are rich in protein. Sesame seeds support bone health and when stuffed with healthy filling, there is nothing more perfect than this.
  • These recipes satisfy the kids’ emotional part as they are colorful and look exactly what they want from the outside.

We hope you enjoy these Healthy Recipes For Kids. Do try them out, upload your pics on social media or the GOQii Arena and tag us! For more healthy recipes, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to cooking sessions on GOQii Play. 

To get more advice on recipes, nutrition and diet tips for kids, subscribe to GOQii and ask your GOQii Coach: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu  

Eat Healthy, Stay Home, Stay Safe and #BeTheForce

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