Have you noticed that ever since your toddler started childcare, he or she always seems to have the sniffles?
It has been observed that kids in childcare get sick more often than kids at home, at least until the age of 3.
As a parent, it is normal to feel worried and frustrated about your child's health, especially if your child is attending childcare. Plus, let’s face it, the pandemic has turned us all into paranoid beings - even the slightest sign of illness can give us anxiety attacks.
Why is my child always sick ever since she started childcare?
Here are some reasons why:
1. Children have not developed the necessary protective immunities1
2. Greater chance of getting infections from other children in group setting1
3. Spreading germs via sharing toys1
4. Have not learned to use toilet properly and the importance of handwashing1
Therefore, kids being kids, will put their dirty hands and toys in their mouths, touch their noses and rub their eyes, picking up and spreading a number of common infectious diseases such as the common cold, stomach flu, and hand, foot and mouth disease.
Keeping kids well in childcare can seem like a constant battle for parents. Snotty noses, hot foreheads, chesty coughs, vomit and sleepless nights - you can’t help but wonder if your child will ever be healthy again.
Many times, parents have to take days off work, adding to the stress.
It’s hardly surprising then, that in the Asianparent survey2 conducted in July 2021, 8 out of 10 mothers in Singapore shared that strengthening their child’s immunity has become more important now than ever. 46% of mums surveyed revealed that building their child’s immunity had become their top priority in the last one year.
Mummies resonated with this sentiment the most, “My kids' health is my number 1 priority, especially in this uncertain pandemic era. Therefore, I always want to give the best nutrition possible to strengthen their immune system.”
How can I boost my child’s immune system through nutrition?
Childcare offers developmental and social benefits for children. They learn how to share, play and communicate with other kids. Plus, putting our little ones in childcare allows us to work knowing that they will be well taken care of.
The main reason your child is getting all those infections from childcare is that he or she is being exposed to new viruses all the time. But that doesn’t mean that you can avoid childcare and keep your little ones locked up at home all day.
By ensuring proper nutrition, we can make sure that our children are strong enough to fight off infections.
We can boost our kids’ immune system by:
- Incorporating nutrient-rich foods into their diet
When it comes to supporting the immune system, specific vitamins and minerals play a vital role:
Iron
Iron is an important component of haemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to transport it throughout your body. If you don't have enough iron, your body can't make enough healthy oxygen-carrying red blood cells, and it can't get enough oxygen.
When the body is oxygen deprived, you will feel exhausted. That exhaustion can affect everything from your brain function to your immune system's ability to fight off infections. Iron is also necessary to maintain healthy cells, skin, hair, and nails.
Red meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, beans and lentils, dark green leafy vegetables and fortified breakfast cereals are good sources of iron.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C helps form and repair red blood cells, bones, and tissues. It is a natural antioxidant used by white blood cells to fight infections. It also helps the body absorb iron from food sources.
Vitamin C is found in many brightly coloured fruits and vegetables, such as oranges, kiwis, blackcurrants, peppers, broccoli and spinach.
Zinc
Zinc is a mineral that keeps the immune system strong, helps heal wounds, and supports normal growth.
Red meat, poultry, oysters, fortified cereals, whole grains, beans and nuts are good sources of zinc.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps support calcium absorption, improves bone strength and contributes to normal function of the immune system. The body can only absorb calcium when there’s Vitamin D, contributing to the development of your child's bones and teeth.
Foods that contain vitamin D include salmon, sardines, egg yolk, shrimp, fortified milk and cereal.
We also get vitamin D through exposure to sunlight.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A promotes normal growth and development, tissue and bone repair, and healthy vision, skin and immune responses.
You can find Vitamin A in milk, yoghurt, cheese, eggs, in fruits like mangoes, papayas and yellow-orange vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, yams, and squash.
Majority of our immune system, approximately 70-80% of immune cells, reside in the gut. The gut is how we absorb almost all of our nutrients. If the gut is healthy, our kids will have better absorption of nutrients from the food they eat, which in turn, will support their growth and development.
When we talk about gut health, we are referring to the gut microbiome, which is a collection of trillions of microorganisms, mainly bacteria, that live in our intestinal tract. These bacteria can be “good” or “bad.” While the bad bacteria can cause infections and diseases, the good bacteria aid in digestion and nutrient absorption and help in supporting immune health.
Probiotics are the “good” bacteria that make up the gut microbiome. They aid in digestive health and support immunity. Prebiotics are a form of dietary fibre that feeds the good bacteria in the gut and allows them to grow and reproduce, thus increasing their presence in the gut.
Probiotics occur naturally in some fermented foods like yoghurt, tempeh, buttermilk, cheese and sourdough bread. Vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains are great sources of prebiotics, which can “feed” this good bacteria in our body.
A healthy gut microbiome is essential in supporting a strong immune system. A balanced, healthy diet containing prebiotics and probiotics with vitamins and minerals is key to a strong gut.
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Ensuring that your toddler gets key nutrients and an adequate amount of probiotics from his food alone can be tough. Especially because, some children in their toddler years, you’ll find children rejecting foods they previously ate while refusing to try new ones.
ESPGHAN3 committee on nutrition noted that young child formula can be used as part of a strategy to increase the intake of iron, vitamin D, and n-3 PUFA and decrease the intake of protein compared with unfortified cow's milk.
To give parents the support they need in building their child’s immune system, Aptamil Gold+ Growing Up Milk now has Immuno-Nutrients⁺ (Iron, Folic Acid, Vitamin C & D) and 1 Billion Probiotics~ to support the immune system. It also has the highest DHA◊ among other growing up milk for brain developmentΩ.
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Children may not feel like eating when he/she is sick. The lack of appetite keeps your child from getting adequate nutrients his or her body needs. When your child falls sick too often, it will affect his/her growth and development. It’s important to ensure good nutrition and take steps to boost their immune system from an early age.
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Stronger Immunity, Smarter Future.
1 “Infections in child care centres.” Paediatrics & Child Health vol. 5,8 (2000): 495-8.
2 Base on a survey conducted among 150 mums on the overall importance of their child’s development in this covid situation in Singapore by theAsianParent in July 2021.
3. Hojsak, Iva, et al. "Young child formula: a position paper by the ESPGHAN Committee on Nutrition." Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 66.1 (2018): 177-185.
⁺ Immuno-nutrients referring to Iron, Folic Acid, Vitamin C & D contributes to the normal functioning of the immune system.
~1 billion Probiotics BBM-16V (1X 109 cfu/100g)
◊ Applies to Aptamil Stage 3 (128mg/100g) & Aptamil HA Stage 3 (87.3mg/100g) Growing Up Milk vs other Growing Up Milk (Stage 3) sold in Singapore as checked on 9 July 2021.
Ω Applies to Aptamil stage 3 only.
¯ Added with probiotics BBM-16V compared to previous formulation.
* T&Cs apply. Only applicable for new users. Redemption is strictly limited to one sample per entity. Impersonation of another entity for sample redemption is not allowed (e.g. using another entity’s username, password, or other account information). Multiple accounts creation for the purpose of sample redemption by the same entity will be deemed as fraud and may be reported to the relevant authorities. Excludes infant and follow on formula (0-12 months).
