4 Simple Ways to Keep Your Kids Healthy and How to Promote Healing if They get Sick
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We all want our kids to be healthy, and everyone has different ways to keep them that way. Today I will share four simple things our family does to maintain optimal health. This should go without saying, but as a disclaimer, I am not a doctor or medical professional. I’m a mom who does research, asks lots of questions, and uses her own common sense.
If you’d like to have these tips in a handy “cheat sheet” quick-reference guide, click here!
Before we begin, I want to free you from the idea that you’re in a contest to have your kids never ever get sick. I say this, because there were a bunch of years when every time my kids came down with something, I felt like a failure as a mom. “I should have been doing ____”, “I shouldn’t have done ______.” If you relate to this, please hear me: yes, we are building our kids’ health from the ground up as they are growing, but their wellness level does not affect our identity at all. Release yourself, mama. It’s okay.
There actually can be some immune “training” that is helpful to our kids when their bodies have to fight something once in a while. Just as our muscles need resistance to grow strong, so our immune systems benefit when they have to mount a response to a sickness of some kind. So perhaps more than “never get sick”, a more reasonable goal for our families would be to support their immune health in the best way possible. (See this post by my friend Heather at Mommypotamus for more on this topic.)
I like to keep things simple, so here are four things I do with my own family to keep us healthy:
Lots of fresh air and sunshine
Getting those little bodies outside and moving around in the fresh air is so good for them, and helps tremendously with their overall health. Running, jumping, climbing, throwing, and just all-around playing in general, builds their muscles, strengthens their lungs, and grows their minds. The dirt and microbes they encounter out of doors benefit them too!
2. Eat “real food” as much as possible, and limit sugar
Oh, it’s so easy to grab food that’s conveniently processed and ready to go, and sometimes it’s worth it. However, since my goal isn’t to just be un-sick, but have bodies that are wholly healthy, I do my best to choose “real food” for my family as much as possible. Fresh fruits and veggies (in season when possible), high quality protein from trusted sources, and most things made from scratch are my goal and go-to as much as possible.
Always? Um, no. Sometimes having my husband pick up a pizza for us on the way home from work feels like a life-saver. Take-out happens sometimes when we want it. Lunchmeat sandwiches might be dinner some nights. But in general, I’m working on having the majority of our meals be real food.
Aaaand this is why I also limit sugar. Notice I didn’t say eliminate completely. We still have sweet treats sometimes, I’m just aware of how much we are consuming, because like it or not, viruses and bacteria thrive on sugar. As an alternative, raw honey or pure maple syrup are delicious in homemade treats or drizzled on oatmeal.
3. Pretty-much-daily supplements
Ok, so these don’t get taken EVERY day, because life happens, but I have chosen a few key supplements to give the kids (and me!) to help with overall health and immune support. Here are the ones we use right now:
I like these chewable ones for the kids, because they’re easy to hand out, and also don’t have added sugar some other brands do.
Sodium ascorbate powder is another great source of vitamin C that does not influence digestion, so you can take more if needed when sick (see below for what we do in case of sickness). It doesn’t have the sour taste that ascorbic acid does (another common form of vitamin C), but is slightly salty, so is easy to disguise in food or a smoothie.
These are so easy to use and they have vitamin K2 added which makes the vitamin D more useable for the body. We normally do one drop per day for the kids, and it’s essentially tasteless, so I will either give them a drop on their tongue or on their finger for them to lick off. Even my 9 month-old opens her mouth for a drop when it comes out of the cupboard. It’s so cute!
Zinc is a mineral that is powerfully healing to the body. It benefits all aspects of health—even has helped some heal scarring and acne. It is one of those things that we ideally would get through contact with the dirt, but because most of our soil has been stripped of nearly all nutrients, we choose to supplement it in our diet.
Fish oil
While the vitamins seem pretty normal and commonplace, I have found that one of the greatest health-boosters for our family is a high-quality fish oil! I have seen a dramatic increase in our overall health when we take fish oil regularly, and found we have been more susceptible to illness when we don’t.
This is the one I give my babies.
I use this one for kids (can be swallowed or chewed). My toddlers take a half-dose.
I take this one, and my adult-sized kids do as well.
We use this supplement (the tiny capsule can be opened and the powder sprinkled on food or mixed with liquid), or feed them fermented or cultured foods like homemade sauerkraut or kimchi.
I have some other supplements that I personally take regularly as well, but these are the ones specific to our topic today.
And finally:
4. Wash hands with soap and water when coming home from outings
This is the most obvious one on the planet—but it took me a while to implement it with lots of little kids. Kids touch everything when they’re out and about—I mean, the bottom rack of the shopping cart? Every single door handle in the freezer aisle? If you have a kid or have seen a kid out in the wide world, you know their little hands are everywhere. It’s normal. It’s how they learn about the world at their age.
So rather than turn every outing into a “don’t touch that!” marathon, I try to have my kids not eat or lick their hands (haha! Kids are so weird sometimes) until we have washed them with soap and water. I prefer soap and water to hand sanitizer, because of the toxic chemicals in sanitizers, and soap and water just does a better job.
Confession: I don’t always make my kids wash their hands if they’re just playing outside. A little dirt or grass or sap never hurt anybody. In fact, if you want to go down an interesting rabbit hole, look up the benefit of soil-based organisms sometime!
What if we get sick?
Of course, as I mentioned before, at some point someone is going to come down with something or be exposed to something, so what do we do then? Again, I keep it simple, and make a few adjustments to our regular routine, namely:
Avoid sugar and dairy (because of the virus-feeding potential of sugar and the mucous-building potential of dairy products).
Double or triple the daily supplements for up to a week. (I give their regular amount several times a day.)
Have them drink lots of water and add in some electrolytes once a day (we like this “lemonade” powder).
Eat nutrient-dense foods and fresh fruit that’s in season. In-season produce often has just what our bodies need for that time of year. God’s world is so cool that way!
Gargle with warm salt water—helps with sore throats and the kids get a kick out of it!
Give elderberry syrup several times a day
Soak in a warm bath for 20 minutes with
2 cups Epsom salt
10-15 drops lavender essential oil (This is the brand I like to use—use this link to get $10 off your first order!)
3-5 drops eucalyptus dives essential oil (there are several varieties of eucalyptus oil—this one is safe for kids)
Rub their chest and neck with a diluted blend of this oil
Diffuse oils in the house, and especially at bedtime
This is a good blend for overall sickness fighting (for topical and diffusing)
This is a good blend for congestion (rub diluted on chest to help with coughing/congestion, or diffuse)
For generally “cleaning the air”, lavender and lemon essential oils in the diffuser are hard to beat! My kids also love the “forest” smell of juniper berry, cedar wood, and fir needle (all are safe for babies and kids).
Get $10 off your first Plant Therapy order with this link.
Remember, having un-sick kids is not a contest. You are a wonderful mama doing her very best for her family. I hope some of these ideas will serve you and help you bless your family with the gift of overall health. To listen in on the podcast, click here!
What are some of the things you have found to be the most beneficial to your family’s health? Please share with us in the comments below!