Ways To Improve A Child's Gut Health

“Vivaan, don’t put that in your mouth”. 

“Why are you eating your soiled hands?”

“Take that toy out of your mouth right away.”

These are a few sentences that I am sure every mother can relate to. I start most of my days with one of these sentences. It is hard to keep an eye on your kid 24x7. After all, I am a mother and not a security camera, to follow his act every second. Still, being a mom comes with strenuous responsibilities, that if you lose your focus even for a second, you will be burdened with an excess amount of guilt.

I talked to the doctor about it, how to stop my kid from putting things in his mouth. He said you can’t stop a kid. He will do what he has to do. It's their instinct. 

So easy for them to say that. What he said next made me think a little. He said that we should work out something to keep things and our surroundings clean. Most importantly, give him good gut health so that nothing hampers his health.

It was then that I started to read about it and started clearing things in baby steps, ensuring he didn’t feel overwhelmed with all the changes that I made around him.

Here is what I did to give him good gut health.

Feeding good bacteria

You know that our gut has millions of good bacteria that take care of our tummy and digestive system for us. These bacteria thrive on dietary fiber. If you don’t feed enough dietary fiber to them, they start eating away at the mucous lining of our stomach. This can cause serious digestive issues in your kid. 

So, start adding food rich in dietary fibers such as wholegrain, vegetables and fruits, legumes, nuts, and other sources that will keep good bacteria satisfied. 

Having bacteria

Yogurt is the best source of active and live bacteria. If you add yogurt to their diet, it has the power to reduce the frequency of ailments, especially gastrointestinal infections. 

You can also bring in fermented dairy drinks such as Yakult that have millions of good bacteria in them. For children, one bottle every day is recommended and your kid will love it too. try not going the traditional way as kids nowadays are anything but traditional.

Avoiding unnecessary use of antibiotics

We, all moms, fear that taking our kids to the doctor is like bringing home a dozen antibiotics. These medicines can be life-saving, no doubt. But unnecessary use of it can kill the good bacteria along with the bad ones. This could cause a long-term effect on the child’s health. So, my pediatrician and I are clear on one thing and that is to give antibiotics to my son whenever and wherever necessary.

Don’t say no to your kids

As a parent, we often start our sentences with “don’t do this”, and “don’t do that” right. We try to do our stuff by controlling them. Most of the time we stop them from doing good things also. Such as allowing them to snuggle with the pets. We fear that they will contract diseases of some kind. Playing in the dirt and snuggling with pets is a good way to strengthen their immune system. 

We are living in a synthetic world. Most of the time we are given inorganic food in the name of organic. In that scenario, it becomes tough for mom to bring their kids away from Lays and Kinder joy to yogurt and vegetables. 

Anyways these are some of the things that allowed me to restore my kid's guide to health. They will learn from what they see. So, start by implementing things on yourself and your kids will follow.

Priya is a freelance writer for 5 years and a mom of 2 year old. Working towards making new mother's life easier and happening. 

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mom Store.