Summer tips for kids: 5 things you must do for your child
The summer heat is increasing day by day in India. Many states in our country are continuously facing heat waves. Both adults and children are also continuously suffering from terrible heat waves. Continuous hot and humid weather may cause several health effects for kids like rashes, dehydration, muscle cramps, diarrhea, stomach upset, and waterborne diseases, etc. This is when you must take care of their diet and daily lifestyle.
Here, I share 5 tips that can help you get a better idea of how to deal with your kid’s health in hot weather:
1. Stay hydrated:
During summer, the body continuously tries to regulate the body temperature via sweating. If we are sweating, it means we lose water and essential body salts like sodium and potassium from our bodies. Therefore, we need to replenish the water and mineral loss from our bodies. Kids may not be aware of hydration, but as a parent it is your responsibility to take care of it and educate them properly. Excess dehydration may cause constipation, headache, muscle cramps, heat illness, etc.
Not only water intake, you must give some healthy drinks with electrolytes. As I mentioned earlier, we also lose minerals from our body due to sweating. So, it is always recommended that you provide them with some electrolyte drinks especially when they come from outside.
Always remember that do not provide chilled water or chilled drinks to children just after coming back home from outside. It may cause a cold, cough, or respiratory discomfort.
Healthy drinks for summer instead of water: Coconut water or daab water, lime-mint drink, lime water with a pinch of salt and sugar, lassi or buttermilk, aam-panna drinks, wood-apple drink or beal panna sarbat, sattu drink, etc. Always try to provide homemade drinks to your child.
2. Serve seasonal fruits:
Fruits are always a very important source of fiber, essential vitamins, and minerals, especially for the growing phase of children. Some fruits are available in our local market with high water content during summer. It helps keep our body cool and hydrated naturally with other nutritional values. Try to add these types of fruits to your kid’s diet plan. Watermelon, litchi, cucumber, grapes, muskmelons, iced apple (taal sash), mango, coconut water, etc.
Make sure that you provide your child with freshly cut fruits. Avoid cut fruits which are kept outside for a long time. It may cause food-borne diseases due to lack of hygiene and these are not nutritious at all.
3. Choose food for better digestion:
In summer, choosing the correct food option for kids' diet is very important. Digestive issues are very common due to summer heat. When the temperature becomes high, the blood flow in the digestive system becomes slow and causes indigestion. Therefore, provide easily digestible foods to your child.
Include rice, whole foods, lean meat, pulses, green leafy vegetables, fruits, cucumber, curd or yogurt, etc.
Avoid processed foods, fried foods, sugary foods, carbonated drinks, fast foods, etc.
4. Practice to maintain good hygiene:
Hygiene practice is most important for kids. At this age, children are involved in many activities instead of school. Sweat is very common in summer; it may cause heat rash and body odour. So, a regular proper bath is essential for kids.
It is also important to ensure that kids wash their hands properly before eating. At their growing age, kids are often physically very active. When they wear shocks and shoes, their foot also sweats due to the hot temperature. Sweat and germs can affect their feet, excessive sweating is also the cause of bad smells from feet. Therefore, it is also important to maintain proper foot.
5. Regulate room temperature properly:
Nowadays, most people use air-conditioning for cooling. Regular exposure to air-conditioning may cause nasal infection, cold, cough, dry skin, etc. Similar health problems can also occur when kids suddenly enter cold air-conditioned rooms after staying in hot weather outside. So, educate your child on how to regulate room temperature properly.
These are my five tips for all parents. I hope it will give you some idea of keeping your kids healthy during the summer.
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