Strengthening the immune system for preschool and kindergarten children

The article was written by Dr. Phan Nguyen Thanh Binh, Head of Nutrition - Dietetics Department, Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology, Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.

Young children often get sick when they go to preschool - kindergarten. This is the biggest concern of many parents when considering sending their children to school. Many children have a dense frequency of diseases, which not only affects the health and growth of the children but also disturbs the whole life - work of the whole family. In order for the child to be ready to learn and explore a new environment, parents should equip the child with the most optimal immune system.

Change in living environment: At school, children will eat together, sleep together, play with healthy children, sick children, just recovered, and even babies in the incubation period, so the possibility of transmitting diseases to each other is insignificant. High level, especially diseases that are easily transmitted through respiratory and digestive tract,...
Psychological trauma: The baby leaves his beloved home suddenly, immersing himself in a completely new environment. This has a significant impact on the child's mental - psychological; causing stress, anxiety, crying a lot, psychological trauma, etc., so it is easy to get tired, less happy and also more susceptible to diseases.

A baby's immune system is formed while the baby is still in the womb. Initially, the baby receives antibodies "passively" from the mother to the placenta. When the baby was born, the mother continued to help strengthen the child's resistance to disease with the precious nutrition from breast milk. Therefore, mothers should be encouraged to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first 6 months of life. Breastfed babies often have very few digestive disorders because breast milk is very safe, has many antibodies and is very suitable for the baby's digestion.
However, when the baby starts to reach 6 months of age, the "help" from the mother begins to be less than optimal because the amount of antibodies passed through breast milk declines, making the baby more susceptible to infection. Starting from this milestone, your baby needs enhanced nutrition and external support to start the process of proactively perfecting resistance. It is necessary to introduce solid foods to children in the right way, at the right time as recommended by the World Health Organization (when the child turns 6 months old) with the right foods for each age of the child will help the child's digestive system always. strong.
In the period from 2 to 5 years old, children have to go to preschool, come into contact with many viruses and bacteria, ... so it is necessary to create good personal hygiene habits for children, especially washing habits. Clean hands properly before eating, after using the toilet, and after playing. In addition, it is necessary to periodically deworm children from 2 years old every 6 months to reduce the harms caused by worm infections, including digestive disorders. Supplementing yeast and necessary vitamins for children who are sick or being treated with antibiotics causes an imbalance of intestinal bacteria leading to a weakened immune system.

In school age, children move a lot, so they need to provide a nutritious diet with enough energy and nutrients to meet the needs of growth and immunity to prevent disease. Try to feed your child while he is sick, pay attention to make up food after each illness lasts for 2-3 weeks so that he can regain his strength.
Here are especially important foods to help increase your baby's resistance:
Meat and fish:
In addition to providing protein, an important source of nutrients to help ensure the maintenance of body functions, Fish meat also provides an important source of minerals such as zinc, selenium, and Omega-3 fatty acids that help strengthen immunity and fight inflammation.
Red meats (beef, pork), eggs: They are sources of protein, vitamins and minerals such as iron and zinc.
Fish and seafood: Usually have very high levels of minerals zinc, iodine, selenium, which are necessary for the production and activation of cells of the immune system.
According to the recommendations of nutritionists, parents can give their children about 150-200 grams of meat, fish and seafood per day to provide enough protein and minerals for the body.
Yogurt:
Adding probiotics from yogurt to the daily diet helps develop beneficial microflora in the intestinal tract, strengthens immunity to help babies stay healthy and eat more deliciously.
Fruits:
Besides providing protein, fat, starch,... for children's daily exercise needs; Parents, do not forget about fruits, one of the richest sources of vitamins and minerals, helping the immune system work effectively and fight diseases when their children are at school age.
Vegetables:
In addition to vitamins, the enhancement of essential minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus, ... also contributes to improving resistance against infectious diseases.
A diet rich in vegetables and fruits both helps to purify the body and increase alkalinity to stabilize the pH, helping to maintain the normal ability of the immune function. In particular, dark, yellow, and red vegetables such as dark green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, squash, gourds, gac fruit, purple grapes, strawberries,... It has high levels of vitamins C, A, beta-carotene and many other antioxidant compounds that enhance disease resistance.
Parents can think of a variety of cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, stir-frying, soup or soup so that their children always feel delicious and stimulate their children to eat more.
Grains:
Nuts, beans and whole grains are rich in fiber, vitamins A, B2, B6, C, zinc, selenium and essential amino acids that effectively strengthen the immune system. Eating cereal regularly not only improves the chewing muscles of the mouth, but also helps the baby to be fully nourished, healthier and happier.

Get enough and good sleep to ensure the healthy development, psychophysiology and immune system of children. Every day, children from 1-3 years old need 12-13 hours, children 4-6 years old need about 10-12 hours of sleep. Creating a bedtime routine is beneficial for your child's health. Maintain personal hygiene, take care of teeth, nose and throat daily and regularly clean and disinfect children's toys. Increase physical activity for children, especially places with fresh environment, sun exposure for 20 minutes every morning. Avoid areas with lots of noise and smoke. Avoid sudden hot and cold environment changes for children. Prepare a variety of foods, avoid cooking too many ingredients in the same dish or cooking many meals at once, making food easy to lose quality, no longer delicious, making children anorexia, lack of nutrition. Prevent vitamin A deficiency by taking vitamin A supplements twice a year, on June 1-2 and December every year. Children who are under constant stress and stress are very susceptible to illness, so it is necessary for them to be comfortable, play freely, cuddle and love children,... Fully vaccinated so that the body has antibodies to prevent diseases dangerous and widespread infection. In addition, preschool children need 5mg of elemental zinc/day to eat well, reach the correct height and weight and exceed the standard. Zinc plays a role in affecting most biological processes taking place in the body, especially the breakdown of nucleic acids, proteins... Organs in the body when zinc deficiency can lead to a There are a number of diseases such as neurological disorders, irritability, etc. Therefore, parents need to learn about the role of zinc and guide them to appropriate zinc supplements for their children.
In addition to zinc, parents also need to supplement their children with other important vitamins and minerals such as lysine, chromium, B vitamins,... errands.
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