The weather is changing, and the cold season is upon us! Tissues will fly and cold medicine will abound. Whether your child seems to get sick often or not, here are things you can do to naturally strengthen his or her immune system. Do these things to make your child’s first line of defense as powerful as possible:

1. Physically guard against germ spread
   • An immune system under stress is more likely to succumb. To keep the pressure off your kids’ immune systems, make sure your kids wash their hands often with soap. Fun towels and soap can make it much easier to train your kids to wash their hands as often as they should – before/after meals, after playing outside, blowing their noses, handling pets, arriving home, and using the bathroom.
2. Serve more fruits and vegetables
   • Fruits and vegetables carry immunity-boosting phytonutrients like vitamin C and carotenoids. Try to get your children to eat five servings of vegetables and fruits per day because a phytonutrient-rich diet increases the body’s production of white blood cells and protects against long-term issues like heart disease or cancer in adulthood.

At Texas Children’s Academy, we work hard to instill good habits within our charges. We say that we put the ‘care’ back into ‘childcare,’ and helping little ones understand the importance of cleanliness and healthy food is part of it. We consider ourselves a member of your team – the team raising this little person – and this is an honor we do not take for granted. We are Arlington, Texas’s premier childcare center for a reason.

Find more immune-boosting strategies in our upcoming blog entries!