Little Germ Lint Rollers
Most people who know about foster kids, know that they can sometimes, even often, have immune deficiencies. They tend to catch everything under the sun, moon and stars that is going around. It seems like every month we are dealing something from a cold to a stomach bug. It’s been a very tough season as we navigate our family’s super active lifestyle with a kiddo who seems to catch it all. So, in an effort to share some things we have tried and even give you some tips and tricks, I hope you find this helpful.
It all starts with what they eat. If your kiddo is like mine, they love chicken nuggets, french fries and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This is not the best diet, but there are healthy alternatives that will still get them chowing down.
buy organic when you can. Jelly is always full of sugar, but there are some options that are much better.
get chicken without hormones
instead of regular bread, try a gluten free alternative
Drop the sugar if at all possible. Sugar is proven to suppress the immune system. Choose fresh fruits to control the sweet tooth.
Never hurts to get them on a probiotic
2. Sleep is not something we get a lot of. Our Little Lion Man loves to take long naps at night and wakes up to play. He gets very interrupted sleep in sporadic doses. This doesn’t help his immune system, so we came up with a good night time routine that has helped.
getting them outside to play and burn all that energy is preferred but Texas weather does not always cooperate. We got a baby trampoline that we get him on after dinner. We also chase him around the house and rough play to fill his energy quota.
we use lavender essential oil (we buy only from Young Living), in his bath water and don’t put a lot of toys in. We make this more of a calm down, relax time.
baby massages are pretty much amazing. He knows what’s coming and loves to let us rub him down with lotion
reading a book in a low lit room is the final piece to our sleep routine puzzle
3. I haven’t met a foster baby, whether they are a newborn or 4 years old, who doesn’t have to learn how to cope with stress. Even if they aren’t in the foster system, a normal, healthy kid can still feel anxiety and stress. Stress is a killer to the immune system. This is tricky as it is very individualized. Our guy needs time to just play quietly in his room, or in his “man cave.” He needs to be alone and just decompress. Whatever it is for you and yours, I encourage you to make it a priority.
4. We set a timer when we are out for every 15 minutes to sanitize our hands and wipe things down. Little Lion Man loves to roll around on floors where everybody and their momma walk. He is also a finger sucker so this is one area we can not yield.
5. Take your shoes off when you get home! Think about where you have walked and what you have walked through, then magnify that by the thousands of others who have done the same in the same places you are. You are bringing that onto your floor at home, where your kids sit and play. This, plus washing your hands all the time will be your biggest allies in fighting off germs.
I know that all this seems so simple and I am probably preaching to the choir, but we could use the friendly reminders and maybe step up our game. Our kids are germ lint rollers, that doesn’t mean they have to live sick.
♥Amber