Every year, the onset of Winter is heralded with a delightful ‘nip in the air’. Now, if only the beginning of Summer could be so pleasurable!
Summer is not an easy season for children. It’s a time when they are desperate to beat that scathing heat. They might show their frustration in the form of a ‘meltdown’, at moments when they feel they might literally ‘melt’! So, what does one do to restore their spirits, and ensure they don’t find themselves ‘drained’ of precious nutrients during this harsh season?
The answer is pretty simple: get them to ‘cool off’! You can do that easily, by giving them some delicious Summer Season Fruits. Nature is truly amazing. It is a reservoir of all the resources that you need to stay healthy, including Summer Fruits that can help your child beat that heat! Ready to cool off? Time to explore the intricate world of Summer Fruits for Kids.
Summer Fruits: The Best Summer Season Fruits for Kids
Thought that Mangoes were the only Summer Fruit? You might want to think again! Presenting a list of the very best fruits to help combat the Summer Heat, from Mangoes to Watermelon!
- Watermelon
- Berries
- Oranges
- Mangoes
- Cucumber
- Peach
- Papaya
- Grapes
- Coconut
- Plums
- Muskmelons
There’s just something refreshingly cool about the mere ‘sight’ of a slice of Watermelon! When thinking of Summer Fruits for Babies, this one’s at the top of the list.
Cool Fact: Did you know that Watermelon is the fruit with the highest content of water? Indulging in this ultra-cooling fruit, certainly makes for one of the best ways to beat dehydration!
Believe it or not, but a cup of Strawberries is packed with more vitamin C than even an Orange! Not only strawberries, ‘all’ berries are laced with Flavonoids that provide much-needed Antioxidant benefits to our children.
Tip: You might want to give them a ‘berry smoothie’, to make for a more fun berry experience! All you need to do is blend some berries with milk, yogurt and possibly some honey in a blender, before serving chilled!
There’s just something about citrus fruits that makes it natural for us to turn towards them in Summer! Quite possibly, it’s the fact that 80 percent of an Orange is, well, Water! Not forgetting to mention, they are rich in Potassium, which is responsible for keeping the muscles healthy.
Note: It is recommended that you wait till at least 10 months before introducing Oranges to your baby. That’s because they are packed with citric acids that might induce rashes, and even possibly cause tummy pains.
There’s a good reason this one’s called The King of Fruits! The very sight of the first Alphonso Mango, indicates to us that Summer is well and truly here! Not only is it great to beat dehydration, it also plays an important role in fighting bad bacteria, and even helps protect your vision.
Note: Mangoes are also rich in Sugar, so you might tell your little one to go easy on them. Even Natural Sugar is ‘sugar’, after all.
You might be wondering how this one got on the list, right? Well, in botanical terms, Cucumber is a Fruit! Know how people put slices of cucumber on their eyes to refresh themselves? Your kids can eat them as a wonderful snack anytime, to achieve the same basic result!
Cool Fact: Besides having a high Water Content, cucumbers aid in the crucial process of flushing out impurities.
All kids love ‘juicy’ fruits. No wonder then, that the uber-juicy Peach is one of the go-to fruits in summer for kids. Besides being packed with antioxidants, it’s a fruit that works wonders in strengthening your child’s immune system.
Tip: If your baby is small, you might want to make a puree out of that Peach and serve it to them.
We adults are told to eat papaya for our digestion, so why shouldn’t our kids? Besides aiding digestion, eating Papaya is also a great way for kids to keep that common ‘cold’ away. Something they are all the more susceptible to, with that impending change in weather.
Tip: If your child doesn’t like eating papaya plain, you might want to dice it into small pieces that can be mixed with other fruits that go into a Fruit Salad.
We adults might prefer grapes in the form of the wine they go on to create, but children love having them plain! Eating this pulpy fruit is a great way for kids to beat the heat, but there’s more to Grapes than just that. They are good for your little one’s Nervous System, and help in the vital absorption of Iron, too!
Tip: Serve them ‘chilled’, for best effect.
How many times have you found yourself veering towards the local coconut stall in the throes of summer, for a refreshing drink of Coconut Water? If you’re looking for a better alternative to all those packaged drinks, this one’s it! Coconut water is actually packed with loads of essential nutrients that your child needs, to ensure they are in the prime of health in summer.
Tip: Get your child to have more Coconut-fun, by having them indulge in eating the tender flesh of the coconut, after they have drunk its water.
Just like in the case of Peaches, the juiciness of Plums is what makes children reach for them more than anything else. The good news is, plums are packed with Antioxidants such as Polyphenol, that not only help in reducing inflammation, but also in securing good bone health.
Cool Fact: A single plum contains an entire ‘one-fifth’ of your child’s daily recommendation of vitamin K!
If you thought Watermelons were great to combat that Summer Heat, Muskmelons are not far behind! Apart from this, muskmelons are rich in fiber and have virtually no fat.
Cool Fact: The ‘diuretic’ property of Muskmelon, makes it an excellent natural treatment for Constipation.
For more such interesting blogs, visit EuroKids!
