Winter, how to regulate your child when they have a cold and cough?
In winter, the temperature difference between a child's body and the outside environment is significant. Their immune systems are not as strong as adults', making them more susceptible to colds and coughs. Sometimes, it's cold outdoors, so we turn on the indoor heating, which can dry the air and also easily trigger colds and coughs. So, if a child catches a cold and coughs, how should we adjust their diet to help them recover?
First: Make sure the child drinks plenty of warm water; avoid water that is too cold or too hot. Water that is too cold or too hot is an irritant to the mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach. When a child has a cold and cough, drinking it will only make things worse. Therefore, it is crucial to avoid this.
When you have a fever, drinking warm water is the best way to lower your temperature and can help reduce inflammation in the body. When coughing, drinking warm water can effectively soothe the throat and alleviate coughing symptoms. Therefore, drinking plenty of water when you have a cold and cough is the wisest choice. Of course, even when healthy, one should develop the daily habit of drinking water to stay hydrated. A healthy body is built from good habits.
Second: The diet should be light; avoid spicy, raw, and cold foods. During a cold and cough, the throat can be very uncomfortable. Eating irritating, spicy, or cold foods at this time will worsen inflammation, harm the spleen and stomach, impair the spleen's function, and lead to dampness and phlegm production. This can prolong the illness and affect normal growth and development. Therefore, the diet should consist of light and gentle foods that will help the body recover quickly.
Finally: Eat more foods that can relieve symptoms. When you have a cold and cough, many foods can help alleviate these symptoms. We can eat more of them, for example, pears, loquats, white radish, lily bulbs, honey, tremella (snow fungus), and winter melon. These ingredients can clear lung heat and are good to eat when coughing. Normally, when there is phlegm, we can make pear soup with rock sugar, boil water with radish and honey, or cook congee with lily bulbs. These are all excellent dietary remedies.
The cold winter is coming, and we hope our little ones can all have healthy and strong bodies to welcome it.
Winter, for children aged 3-6, what good advice and suggestions do you have for their diet and lifestyle?
Appropriately eat some warming foods in winter;
Winter is very cold, and we need to consume enough energy to maintain body temperature and resist the cold. Therefore, we should give our children more energy-rich foods. High-energy foods mainly include carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Carbohydrates usually refer to staple foods like rice and noodles, but eating too much can lead to weight gain. Fats here refer to energy-producing saturated fats, like pork fat. Therefore, we should especially supplement our children's diet with high-quality protein foods, such as beef, lean chicken and duck, eggs, fish, milk, and soy products, to get through the winter healthily.
Appropriately eat some moisturizing foods in winter:
The winter climate is relatively dry, and it's easy to develop symptoms like dry and cracked skin, cheilitis (inflammation of the lips), and angular stomatitis (inflammation at the corners of the mouth). Therefore, we need to supplement our children with vitamins and water in a timely manner. Among the vitamins, B2, VA, and VC are particularly important. B2 is mainly found in animal liver, eggs, milk, and legumes; VA is mainly found in animal liver, carrots, and pumpkins; VC is mainly found in fresh vegetables and fruits. So, remember to feed your children these foods. In addition, remember to drink enough warm water every day.
Appropriate physical exercise in winter cannot be missed;
You must have had this experience: it's very cold in winter, you sit in front of the computer, completely still, and even with the air conditioner on, your toes get colder after a while. Physical activity promotes blood circulation, which warms the body. For our children, 1-2 hours of outdoor exercise in winter is essential for their healthy growth. If the weather is not too severe, it is recommended to go out, breathe some fresh air, get some sun, and move their arms and legs. Remember to ventilate the rooms at home often to get fresh air. On days with strong sun, frequently air out quilts and clothes.
Winter passes and spring comes, and you will suddenly find that your little one has grown another year older.