Bulding your kids' immune system

In General Santos City, Philippines, where I live, there is never really an official rainy season unlike in the Luzon island. Sure, we have our share of rain but, most of the time, it's sweltering heat, around 34 degrees Celcius, that accompany us. The weather changes could really be erratic on even a single day.

My first concern when this happens is how to keep the kids cool in hot weather and keeping them warm when it does get cold and rainy. In times like these, it's the time the kids' immune system gets messed up and they get colds and cough easily. The school year starts around this time as well so imagine the multiple sources of virus and bacteria.

As a proactive measure, I give them vitamins everyday. Their supplement is Vitamin C with Zinc meant to boost their immune system. I also make sure that they get to eat fruits, vegetables and drink fluids. They are not yet a big fan of vegetables but they do get to eat those that they like a lot like squash and eggplants. Eating fruits is no problem. They can have them for breakfast, lunch or dinner and snacks too!

I also teach them sound hygiene practices like using a hanky when they sneeze, washing their hands often specially after using the toilet and not sharing personal stuff they use with others. We also keep the house clean and tidy at all times and disinfect once a week. It sure is hard to monitor these in school so the rest of the time that we can monitor them, we encourage them to go on with these practices. I am glad that the school also promotes good hygiene. Recently, we have also avoided public play areas in malls since we noticed that every time they go play in these places, they catch a virus soon enough.

We also do get them exposed to a little dirt and build their defenses by letting them play outside every afternoon. We let them touch plants which we are sure to be not poisonous and to play in the playground.

I am thankful that my kids have been really in great health. They are active, happy and eager to be playing and reading all the time. When a child gets sick, a mom worries specially when the child is inconvenienced a lot. So it's every mother's prayer that his or her child be in good health, that's for sure.