With cold and flu season fast approaching, it’s time to start boosting your child’s immune system.

Unfortunately, there is no surefire way to guarantee that your child won’t get sick, but you can help their body fight off illness by boosting their immune system! In our last blog, our day care in Trumbull went over a couple of helpful tips to boost your child’s immune system. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, now is the time! Keep reading to learn about a few more things you can do to boost your child’s immune system:

#3. Get outside and get moving!

Encouraging your child to exercise is one of the best things that you can do for their immune system. Studies have shown that exercise actually increases the production of “natural killer cells”, which are a kind of white blood cell that fights off infection. Being outside is also important because it exposes your child to bacteria that strengthen the immune system. For maximum benefit, your child should exercise approximately a half an hour every day.

#5. Encourage your child to wash their hands correctly!

Hand washing is an incredibly effective way to wash away bacteria that your child will encounter every day, but a quick rinse won’t do. Teach your child to wash under the fingernails and in between the fingers, and teach them to sing the birthday song as they wash.

#4. Steer clear of bad habits that harm the immune system. 

While things, like eating healthy, exercising and getting plenty of sleep, boost the immune system, bad habits can have the opposite effect. Exposing your child to second-hand smoke, feeding them a diet that is high in fat and sugar and allowing them to stay inside rather than getting exercise are all bad habits that can weaken the immune system.