It’s important for children to have lots of down time, time for creative play, and simply times of rest. Busy bodies need to take a break every now and then for their immune systems to thrive. And the quality of sleep really matters . For proper secretion of melatonin (our sleep hormone), children need to sleep in the dark, without a night light or screens. Since screen time may also affect sleep quality, I recommend making sure your child’s electronic devices are powered down long before bedtime. Elderberry is also one of my favorite immune boosters for kids, especially if they have recurrent respiratory tract infections. In fact, supplementing with elderberry was found to reduce upper respiratory symptoms2 in a meta-analysis of research, which included 180 total participants, published in Complementary Theories In Medicine. Of course, please make sure to see your physician before starting your child on any new supplement or herb regimen.
