Paediatric experts advise routine care and hygiene over supplements as children return to school

Following the return to classrooms, paediatric specialists emphasise that maintaining a balanced diet, vaccination, good hygiene and sleep are more vital for children’s health than additional supplements or immune boosting products.

As schools reopen, paediatric specialists say parents should focus less on trying to “boost” a healthy child’s immunity and more on keeping it steady through routine care, vaccination and basic hygiene. Prof Dilek Orbatu, the chief physician at Dr Behçet Uz Children’s Diseases and Surgery Training and Research Hospital in Izmir, said children who eat a sufficient, balanced diet generally do not need extra supplements.

Orbatu warned that the return to classrooms and other shared settings increases exposure to infections, especially for nursery and primary school pupils. But she said the best protection is not a long list of products or medicines; it is sticking to the national childhood vaccination schedule, maintaining a nutritious diet and avoiding unnecessary treatment. The American Academy of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Mayo Clinic have all said most healthy children can meet their nutritional needs through food alone.

The doctor also stressed everyday infection control. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention advises vaccination, keeping unwell children and staff at home, improving ventilation and maintaining regular cleaning and disinfecting. Its handwashing guidance says children should wash with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially before eating and after using the toilet. Where water is not available, alcohol-based sanitisers can help, though Orbatu said they should not be relied on too heavily.

Sleep, she said, is another overlooked part of children’s health. Hormones linked to growth and recovery are released at night, so late evenings on phones and tablets can leave children short of the rest they need, and that loss is not easily repaid at the weekend. She also pointed to repeated infections, poor growth, recurrent abscesses or frequent hospital admissions as reasons for specialist assessment, including checks for possible immune deficiency.