Parenting & Lifestyle for you!!

A test of Love, Do you allow your kids to eat Ice cream in Winters?

Well, It is the test of a parent to persuade a child to stay away from Ice cream. Be it in scorching summers or in the winters. And usually winters are associated with “No Ice creams”, but a glance at these parlours and kids go wild to get one. A strenuous situation is embraced, everyone in the family tries to explain, sometimes the explanation turns into yelling and scoldings also. But most of the times, all the struggle goes into vain and kids end up having one they love eating. Isn’t it mama’s and papa’s? More so, when they are in Toddlerhood or Pre schooler phase and don’t have much understanding.

Questions like, Why do I get cold after I eat Ice cream? Why does ice cream makes me cough? Is Ice cream cold and headache relate?, are so common and answered as “Yes” in many forums & groups. But let me share some scientific reasons right here.

So does having Ice creams really cause colds?

Colds are caused by Viruses and not by eating any cold thing. If the viruses have already entered and are getting active, Ice cream can worsen the situation, not due to cold but due to excessive sugar it has. Germs feed on this sugar and they become more active. Further, dairy products are also said to increase the phlegm and can thicken the mucus which has already started to build up. This can lead to nasal congestion. Standalone Ice cream can never cause cold or cough in kids or even in elders, until enough of it has been gobbled. If you have been already infected, then it might aggravate the mucous and phlegm development. It has been said time and again by many doctors around the world that there is simply no reason for you to avoid ice cream during cold/winters.

Further the impact of ice cream during winters also depends upon the immunity of a child. These days, many kids have really poor immunity. So, we need to focus on building that immunity by giving more of essential macro and micro nutrients to a child, right from the time of weaning.

Here, let’s focus this post on the very common Ice cream struggle during winters. I’m sure most of you would have given up to the incessant efforts by the kids to have an their favorite ones. Let’s now get to know what can be done to minimize the chances of Ice cream being termed as “Villain for kids cold”.

5 Tips to reduce the chances of cold getting enhanced after eating Ice cream :

1. Drink some lukewarm water :

It is said and experimented well widely that drinking warm water after ice cream reduces the intensity of cold getting enhanced. The reason is simple, the sugar crystals [food for germs], gets washed off from the teeth and cavities and it soothes the throat. If your kid is close to 5years, ask him/her to gargle with lukewarm water after eating it.

2. Cinnamon water :

It not just helps to keep your throat good, but is also a refreshing drink. You can give your kids Cinnamon water to a drink after their ice cream intake. [1 Cinnamon :1 Cup water, Simmer and cool it. You can make a concentrate and mix it with normal water]. Cinnamon clears the mucus and hence it will avoid building the extra layers of mucus.

3. Allow basic, less sugary Ice creams only :

Ice cream’s with cookie bits, nuts, extra syrups, lots of cream, fudge sauces, candy toppings should be avoided. Also, extra sugary ice cream desserts should be avoided. The sinner here is again the presence of extra sugar. So, let kids relish on the basic and low sugar ones only. You can also opt for non-dairy frozen desserts as Sorbet, as an alternative.

4. Home Remedies after eating Ice cream :

• Tulsi leaf [Basil] juice + honey and pepper powder can be given. Basil can also be replaced with ginger and this mixture can be given. Though it will be really unfair to give this over ice cream, if you think it is must, go ahead and make this as a mandate before treating kids with ice cream. Give the extract twice a day.
• Some people also recommend giving Betel leaves with honey over ice cream to prevent cold and cough.
• An effective option is of Dry ginger with little salt. Ask kids to chew it immediately after relishing their ice cream. I used to chew it daily even when I was young, it tastes nice.

5. Allow Ice cream while the sun is shining bright:

Avoid its intake during evening, nights and early morning. Allow kids to have them during noon, i.e. peak sunny hours and then top it up with any of the above mentioned points of Home remedy/warm water.

My cousin’s kid was very prone towards cold for one type of Ice cream brand. When she switched the brand and also worked on the home remedies, her tendency to catch cold really reduced. So, you could even notice that if a particular brand is resulting in extra mucus formation, avoid that and choose basic natural ones! 

Have you tried any of these suggestions or would you suggest any other option to allow parents to let kids eat ice creams in winters and forget that “Cold factor”?

Hope you enjoy those ice creamy moments even in the winters!