It’s a difficult situation when your kids keep getting sick.
You feel helpless and scared, always wondering what more you can do to keep them healthy.
Well, there some very simple things you can do to keep so-called “seasonal” illnesses out of the home. You don’t have to run around like a crazy person sanitizing everything in your house or keeping everyone who coughs or sneezes in quarantine.
Health and Your Environment
The problem is not the presence of bacteria or viruses in the environment. It is the health of the immune system defending that child which will determine whether or not he/she gets a cold or the flu, etc.,
- In other words, it isn’t that the “germs” are so strong as much as that our kids are so weak.
There are times, however, when our bodies become weaker as a result of the lifestyle changes we undergo during certain periods of the year.
Luckily, there are identifiable reasons why your kids keep getting sick.
The following steps can drastically cut down on doctor bills (which parents will love) and missed school days (which kids will hate):
Sick Kids: Reason #1
Your kids will keep getting sick if they don’t get enough Vitamin D. Unfortunately, most of us go sometimes 7 months out of the year without sun exposure depending on where we live.
- Nearly every single person I have ever sent to have their Vitamin D levels checked was critically deficient in this vital nutrient.
It is an absolute NECESSITY when it comes to proper immune function and everyone should supplement with Vitamin D3 made from whole foods. Without it, kids can’t produce antibiotics properly and they’ll keep getting sick.
Lack of Vitamin D also contributes to many other immune related and inflammatory disorders including heart disease, cancer, asthma, allergies, autoimmune diabetes, and a plethora of other health issues.
Health Tip:
Every person should supplement with 35IUs of Vitamin D3 per day for every pound of bodyweight. The medical recommendation for Vitamin D is dangerously low.
Sick Kids: Reason #2
If your kids are stressed, they will keep getting sick …
- Most are bouncing between two families and two homes
- They’re loaded with hours of homework
- Parents are strapped for cash
- They’ve got practices and coaches demanding their best performance
- Peer pressure
- Deadlines
- Report Cards
- All the while trying to find time to be kids
Regardless of age, stress of any kind will trigger the body’s fight or flight response. The effects of this will both shock and alarm you. Stress is a major factor in nearly every chronic and degenerative illness in America and we are burying our kids with it before they are even teenagers.
- The immune system gets shut down during fight or flight. Under chronic stress, it will stay shut down and your kids will keep getting sick.
Health Tip:
The last thing a child needs is to be on the go from 7am until bedtime. The first deep breath they take should not be the moment they collapse into bed for the night.
Fun isn’t stressful. It actually causes the body to produce healthy chemicals, so allow time for it. It’s even good for adults, too (hint-hint).
Sick Kids: Reason #3
Your kids will keep getting sick of they don’t get enough rest.
“Little Johnny didn’t go to bed last night until midnight. Ughh! I can’t believe how tired I am.”
I hear this all the time. Most likely, little Johnny gets up every day at the same time. That’s why he needs to be in bed every night at the same time as well, and get a minimum of 9 hours of sleep.
The body uses an enormous amount of energy to grow and repair. During sleep, little Johnny’s system can use the majority of its energy for just that purpose. When he is at football practice, eating, doing homework, wrestling with his brother, and staying up all night watching TV, it cannot.
Lack of sleep will also trigger the stress response and all the other chemical and hormonal changes that go with it.
Health Tip:
If we don’t want our kids to keep getting sick, we have to adopt a lifestyle that is different than all the sick people around us. Their health depends on it.
Be different. Be healthy.
