The two greatest joys for parents are to have healthy and happy children. Forget about exam results or success at school, let’s focus on improving the health and wellness of our children.

It’s Universal Children’s Day on Sunday 20 November, and if there is one thing you could do for your child, it would be to introduce fermented food probiotics into their life. We can be a bit slow to catch on in Australia. In many other cultures where fermented foods are part of the daily diet, it begins in the womb. Here growing babies get a gulp of these foods every day via their pregnant mum’s amniotic fluid. A bit of kimchi here, a taste of tempeh and miso there and a slurp of yoghurt, kefir or sauerkraut.

So the message to pregnant mums is start taking your fermented foods and probiotics now! Because, the more robust a mother’s gut before and during pregnancy, the more robust a baby’s gut will be. If you want a calm and settled baby who is much less likely to develop colic, food allergies and reflux, shine the spotlight on your diet. Less tears and stress for everyone! Not only that, studies show that if you take probiotics while you are pregnant and breastfeeding your child is much less likely to develop eczema and allergies as a child.

We often get asked at what age should babies start taking Probiotic Foods.
Here is the short answer, from birth. And here is the long answer. Bifidobacterium are the most important bacterial strains for babies to lay down first as these good guys are responsible for immune system development and reducing the occurrence of colic and food allergies. Bifidobacterium are abundant in our Probiotic Foods for Kids.

You can dip your finger into a pot of Probiotic Foods and let baby suck a tiny bit off your finger or rub over their gums if colicky. Don Chisholm, the creator of Probiotic Foods when travelling did just that with a fussing baby on a flight. He was delighted to receive a letter back from the grateful mum who said how much it settled her baby was after Probiotic Foods! (trying to get a quote for this!!)

As babies grows they can have a greater amount of Probiotic Foods, Sprinkle at the end to smoothie or puree.

Start with a tip of a teaspoon and build up to ⅛ teaspoon. When kids are ready to go to preschool they need the extra immune support with a  ¼ of a teaspoon in the morning and building up to  ¼ tsp at night. By school age they can be taking ½ teaspoon once to twice per day.

And of course, let your children play in the dirt, with worms and grubs, play with their pets and just get dirty and have fun. Outdoor time not screen time is the go. Aim to provide organic, wholefoods wherever possible along with filtered water. Reduce your child’s exposure to chemicals in the home: in cleaning, perfumes and washing powders. And watch your child bloom as their gut flora and overall gut health is nourished.

My 5 year old, son Hayes, had acute eczema all over his body. Since he has been taking Probiotic Foods for Kids, natural Vitamin C and zinc his eczema is SO much better. He has it in his smoothie and it’s a relief to see how good his skin is.
Jacqui Freeman, Manager, Kondalilla Eco Resort, QLD