4 Ways to Build Your Kids Immune System This School Year

It can be so hard to keep our kids healthy during the school year, no matter what their age! Angeline is a teenager already and I have just as much trouble keeping her germ-free and illness-free as I did when she was a toddler in day care.

Our children in Miami go back to school mid-August, which means that it's time now to begin preparing Angeline for the new school year. Angeline is entering her sophomore year, and of course we have to plan for school supplies, new uniforms and all of the fun stuff that the back-to-school season brings, like manicures and trips to the hair stylist. But it's also time to begin focusing on maintaining her good health so that she doesn't miss a lot of school due to being sick! Angeline missed a lot of school last year and I think that her less-than-stellar grades were a direct result of her poor attendance. Keeping that in mind, keeping her healthy is a big concern this year.

But building a healthy immune system isn't a one step process, it revolves around so many things!

4 Ways to Build Your Kids' Immune System This School Year

1. A consistent sleep schedule helps kids keep illness at bay. When kids get 8-10 hours of sleep each night, their bodies have time to rest and rejuvenate, making them more resilient to germs and illness. When your kids do get sick, it's even more important for them to get a full night's sleep so that they can fight off the sickness!
2. A well-balanced diet gives your kids the nutrition they need for healthy, well-functioning bodies. Now that the summer is almost over and we are done traveling, it's time to cut out the junk food and get back to healthy eating so that Angeline's body has the proper fuel it needs to function and feel good! We've always done well with drinking lots of water, and that needs to carry over into her school year.
3. Exercise does a body good! We did really well this summer with doing a lot of walking on our vacations. Keeping kids fit and active helps give them the energy they need to do well in school, and since Angeline doesn't play sports in school, getting in exercise at home is so important!
4. Take daily vitamins and supplements to help boost your kids' immune systems.

I've always found, as I am sure that many parents will agree with me, that getting children to take their vitamins is easier when it's FUN. A foul-smelling hard vitamin that they have to choke down? It's a fight every morning! But give your kids an adorable, bear shaped L'il Critters vitamin and suddenly it seems like taking vitamins is fun. Yes, even for teenagers!

L'il Critters™ are the #1 child gummy vitamin. They are a great tasting gummy vitamin that is preferred by kids and trusted by us moms. L'il Critters says "We Make Nutrition Taste Good” and Angeline agrees!

With the kids going back to school, they're basically entering a germ-apolooza, so I think it's especially important to help boost your immune system with vitamins, a healthy diet, and lots of rest and exercise!

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Church & Dwight via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Church & Dwight.