Keep Your Family Healthy This School Year
Covid hit like a hurricane in 2020 and suddenly we were all terrified of being exposed to the deadly virus. Masks were awesome, but after two years behind them, our immune systems took a hit. It was a great precaution against Covid, but it did not allow us to come in contact with the everyday bugs our bodies were used to fighting and had built immunity to.
I was always very attentive to sanitary practices, especially once we had kids, but the pandemic sent me into overdrive. When masks were finally allowed to be left at home, my kids caught all kinds of things, including Covid- thrice. Thank goodness, the virus has weakened and we have treatments that help us beat it now.
We have a pretty long list of ways that we try to build and maintain healthy immune systems around here. Admittedly, our summer days in the sun and relative normality has lowered our barriers a bit, but back to school time is the perfect time to add or change ways to keep yourself and your family well.
Top 3 ways to stay get and stay healthy:
Eat well
Focus on getting most of your nutrition from real whole foods. Those are the foods that do not have ingredient lists. It is the only ingredient. Organic and non-GMO is awesome, but the cost can get crazy, I know. Focus on buying produce that is local (hasn’t had to travel very far to get to your supermarket) and in season. Produce that is in season is likely less expensive. What you are trying to avoid is the man-made additives and preservatives which are not healthy. You are also looking to avoid processed foods because those foods lose their nutritional value and are often supplemented with cheaper, less healthy “filler.”
Sleep
I am on a mission to get my poor sleepers on a better schedule. I have two children that took to sleeping schedules and have always slept well and I have two children that hate sleeping (like, what?!). These two fought me tooth and nail when it came to sleep training and still do their best to hold their eyes open until they simply pass out. They also don’t stay asleep which means neither do I. I spent many years sleeping very little and when I did, it was not quality sleep. We relax bed times in the summer, but we start reimplementing school bed times about two weeks before school starts. It’s never smooth, but once school and activities begin it’s much easier because they are worn out by the end of the day. My husband and I use high dose melatonin for it’s antioxidant properties and we use low dose for our children when necessary. When possible, it’s a great idea to add in something active 1-2 hours before bed and then move directly into a night time routine that allows winding down time.
For example:
5:30 Dinner-End Screen Time Here
6:00 a game of tag
6:30 Bath/Shower, Brush Teeth
7:00 Quiet activity
7:30 In Bed- books, songs, prayers, etc…
8:00 Lights Out
To determine bed times, check this list from The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine
• Infants* 4 months to 12 months should sleep 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
• Children 1 to 2 years of age should sleep 11 to 14 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
• Children 3 to 5 years of age should sleep 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
• Children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep 9 to 12 hours
• Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours
Hand washing
Seems obvious, but with kids, nothing is easy.
And, while I hate the idea of using hand sanitizer all the time, I keep it in my car, in my bag and in lunch boxes because it’s a necessity to have clean hands.
I plan on going in to more detail about the other ways we prepare for the germ onslaught in my next post. How do you proactively develop your immune system?