ChhaviIn a new initiative by Rabitat ‘Meet the Mom,’ we invited super moms Shweta, Radhika, and Neha to sit together and discuss the joys and issues that come with motherhood.
Shweta is a full-time mother of a three-year-old, a photographer, and a Social Media Influencer for countless moms and moms-to-be. Radhika is, again, a full-time mother of a three-year-old and an Independent HR Consultant. Neha is also a full-time mom of a 10-year-old and the Digital Marketing Head at Rabitat.
With Meet the Mom, we intend to share awesome tips, tricks and hacks with you all. We aren’t only focused on delivering the best baby products to you, we also believe that you should have the best time of your life being both the mother and the wife. Most importantly, we value your womanhood and the never-say-never spirit.
In this episode, the moms discuss the importance of immunity. The mothers also shared their tips, hacks, home remedies and things with us.
Immunity
No matter how old or young your child is, when they fall sick, your world falls off. I honestly can’t think about anything but taking my daughter to a safe place and ensuring that she never falls sick. But does a safe place even exist? I think not. The world is full of germs and I didn’t realize this until only three years ago!
So, obviously, you can’t make this world safe for your children, but you can give them some bodyguards. Immunity plays that exact role. It’s a feature that our bodies, fortunately, have to keep us safe from a variety of disease-causing bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other parasites like ringworms.
Building a child’s immunity is as important as giving them good clothes and good food. Since the immune systems of young human children aren’t well developed, they’re more vulnerable to infectious microorganisms than us adults. And at the same time, we can’t stop them from going to school or playgrounds, aka ‘breeding grounds for germs.’
Those TV ads freak me out even more. Damn those insects and rodents, I don’t have roaches and rats at my home but the mosquitoes and houseflies are way too smart. So, I have mosquito nets and repellents at home that I use with care - with care because repellants are chemicals and they should be used very cautiously, especially when kids are around.
So immunity is a big thing. The core of immunity is, of course, the immune system and our gut, which is home to several microorganisms that are good for us and help in digestion, immunity, and tonnes of other things. Our gut microbiome - as they call it - is much more important than we can imagine. Check this to know more.
And going by the stats, as Neha tells us, “An average 6-year-old falls ill 6-8 times in a year, and this is just cold, this doesn’t include diarrhea and other ear infections or whatever they’re picking up.”
Though the numbers suggest that keeping them from falling ill isn’t normally avoidable, it isn’t impossible. Shweta, like all of us, spends most of her time researching how she can boost the immunity of her three-year-old son. She fairly believes that we can’t give them medication (like antibiotics) every time they fall sick because that can hamper the good bacteria that resides in their bodies and do tonnes of other things (read: side effects).
Then - the other factor that we just can’t act on is pollution - as Shweta points out, “I think we have our limitations because we can’t control the external factors.” And then, for the people living in Delhi, it’s even worse.
Putting her thoughts together, Shweta further reveals that her research has made her aware of the fact that “gut health is very important and actually holds the core of immunity.” So Shweta rightly advises, “You know, like the probiotics are something, which has to be there in the kids' meal.” So, therefore, you must include yogurt in your child’s daily diet - is a natural probiotic and hence great for health.
As the discussion proceeds, Neha reminds us of the magic potions that our grandmoms used to give us as kids - the ones we got in the winter and the summer, say to keep us from loos. These magic potions used to be brewed up in our own kitchens and we never had to visit the doctor. Whereas, nowadays, whenever anything happens to our children, the first thing that we do is dial the doctor.
One of the most common examples of these magic potions or ingredients is turmeric or haldi, which is excellent for a cold. Just add a pinch to milk and give it to your children or drink yourself. But, unfortunately, kids are the least excited to take such ‘magic potions’ - something that Neha dreads just like most of us. But don’t you worry, Shweta has a tip here - she suggests that you add a pinch or two of turmeric powder in water and give it to your child. I’m hopeful that it could help, maybe!
Shweta says, “I mean there are so many things but actually, you know, we don’t just think about these things.” Could we agree more? She also says that we prefer doctors over all these home remedies and hacks that our grannies taught us. And also, now there’s this universal doctor that you can meet without an appointment! Dr. G. It’s Google.
“Google! All the time!” remarks Neha and it’s cent percent relatable. Because we just don’t care. I’m sure even the doctors are scared of the possibly more powerful Dr. G because it holds the bogus potential of taking their jobs. Even before we can get to the doctor, we have already checked the whole list of symptoms related to our own or our child’s symptoms and the following diagnosis. Some of us are too confused because of the abundant, contradictory information available on the internet. Nevertheless, it’s been found that Google is not seen as a threat by General Practitionersand it could lead to a better understanding of the symptoms and the diagnosis.
Radhika believes and says, “But I think the more I speak to more of my friends, people are kind of going back to these old wive’s tales.” Which is - again - true. We all have our own potions or Kadhas recipes as an inheritance from our moms and grandmoms that come really handy whenever our child catches a cold or something. Neha reveals that even she gets it whenever it’s being made for her daughter to treat her cold- because, why not!
Also, it’s also very normal to give such a potion whenever you see the slightest of the symptoms because we don’t want our children to go through the agony - obviously. But Shweta and Radhika also discuss that many mothers hesitate from giving such things to their children - whatever be the reason - whether they’re skeptics or simply unaware. No comments on that because it is, after all, a personal choice individual to each mother and we know that the mother knows the best.
Further, the moms tell us their magic hacks to boost immunity or some other secret potions or ingredients that their mom or grandmom taught them about.
Some Health Hacks by the Mothers for the Mothers
Radhika, very confident in her secret hack, tells us that her magic ingredient is nutmeg or jaifal. “You have to shred it a little bit and just apply it on the nose and you sleep the night. And it works like a charm. No runny nose, no cough in the morning.” While I’ve never heard about it, I’m definitely going to try this one because I trust the moms I can relate with. You should too!
Shweta shares that she uses the spice as an ingredient in her meals whenever the weather’s changing, but this application is even surprising for her - as much as it is for us. So if you don’t yet include it, start doing it because not only does “it smell and taste good, it is also very effective during weather change.”
Moving on to Shweta’s hack, she describes it as “very short, crisp, and very effective,” which it sure is - Tulsi (holy basil) water! She advises to give tulsi water to the children during weather change and it will work like a charm. Well, tulsi is definitely a magic plant. It is used in many home remedies, too. Have you ever triedtulsi tea, though? The aroma and the flavor are pretty relaxing.
Then comes the last but not the least hack that Neha has for you. She says, “My mom used to give it to us when we were kids… it’s honey and almonds. We would have a spoonful every time in the winter before going to school. And I swear I didn’t get cold as much as these kids get now.” We’re sure this simple hack is also yummy at the same time as it is effective! This hack, as Shweta inquires Neha, could also be the secret behind her glowing skin. And I’m sure we can try it too!
We hope that you’ve noted or saved these tips and use them whenever you find them useful. Remember that boosting your child’s immunity can act as a one-stop solution for all of their health-related problems.
Of all the celebrated luxuries of the world, health is a luxury that is still counted as basic. Remind yourself that it doesn’t come itself and, therefore, shouldn’t be taken for granted. Health requires a lot of work, too. But at the same time, you also don’t want to forget yourself while taking care of your child: because at the end of the day, the world becomes a whole circle where your child’s health follows yours and vice versa.
Happy Mommy-ing!
