Immunity During Toddlerhood & School Age

The past decades have shown a tremendous change in the world we live in. From industrialization, migration, pandemics/epidemics and even climate change all at some point affects our daily lives. But if one thing that the recent pandemic has taught us is that of our immunity. With this, the most common concerns include “immunity booster”, “immunity vitamins”, “vitamins to boost immunity”, “best immune booster for toddlers”, “immune boosting foods for toddlers and school-age”. We have been very keen and meticulous in maintaining a healthy body and mind; to the point of taking supplements and personal protective equipment have been the norm. There’s nothing wrong about this especially the fact that we should maintain a healthy immune system to easily bout of these germs.

In fact, at the time we are born, protection coming from the mother’s immunity thru their antibodies is continued to grow and develop throughout the childhood. The child’s immune system will continue to adapt, evolve and grow into a much stronger and complex system later on in life.

This is the reason why young children or in the preschool age group can get easily sick with symptoms such as cough and colds – it is their immunity working on it.  

Cough and colds in general is very common in children and as the reason for consults in the clinics. Causes vary from allergies, infections and even exposure to toxic substances such as secondhand cigarette or e-cigarette smoke.

As a matter of fact, according to the WHO and American Academy of Pediatrics, cough in children can occur in 1-2 in 10 toddlers and will cough for around 1-3 weeks following a simple cold. For those without any other symptoms coughing an average of 10 times a day may still be normal for them.

Otherwise, if the following below is present among our children, we should take an extra effort to consult them immediately and these includes but not limited to^1,2:

• Fast breathing
• Difficulty in breathing or with signs of respiratory distress
• Associated with high grade fever
• Has unusual sound during breathing
• Cough is more than 2 weeks duration
• Decreased activity and cannot tolerate oral intake

To address these potential problems, it is necessary to support our child’s immune system as they develop overtime.  Here are some practical tips to have a strong and intact immunity³:

• Make sure that breastfeeding is continued while solid foods are introduced later on
• Ensure enough sleep (at least 8 to 10 hours per day)
• Getting their daily recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals (mostly in the foods they eat)
• Avoidance to environmental and household allergens, irritants, toxic substances and pollutions
• Regular consult with your pediatricians for preventive care and vaccination schedules
• Maintain a healthy gut microbiome

The last one seems to be a vital and core of supporting our immune system health. It is because our bodies are area where trillions of good bacteria can be found that influences our health – this is our micro biome. It has several functions including absorption of nutrients, regulation of our immune system and defense to unwanted microorganisms that causes certain diseases.

We may be able to maintain our child’s microbiome by making sure we are giving importance to their healthy diet by letting them eat a variety of healthy foods which includes the basic food groups of Go, Grow and Glow plus vitamins, mineral and probiotics.

Several studies already proven the role of probiotics as part of our nutrition in securing a healthy immune system. They are live microorganisms that exert beneficial effects by interacting with the gut microbiota. Hence, they fortify the gut’s barrier function and modulate the immune system and therefore regulate certain cell function activity for an optimal immune function. Specifically, several trials in children have studied the effects of probiotic L. rhamnosus GG in the prevention of respiratory infections⁴.

As a parting message, the role of nutrition to immunity cannot be overemphasized since it is vital to the growth and development of our children. The role of your pediatricians and child advocates is also very important as to maximize the opportunities to emphasize the benefits of nutrition through proper counseling at every visit and noting that adequate nutrition is given to maximize the potential of our child’s growth and development as they go through their everyday lives.