Heading to the Country with Kids? Here’s What You Need to Know About ‘Home’ Products
Heading to the Country with Kids? Here’s What You Need to Know About ‘Home’ Products
As warm weather arrives and vacation season begins, many families look to escape the stuffy city. However, life in the countryside comes with its own set of nuances that need to be considered. While in villages and cottage settlements, some parents may be tempted to treat their little ones to fresh milk or eggs from the neighbor’s hen. But how safe are these home products for children? And what should you know before incorporating them into your child’s diet? We turned to a pediatrician, a first-category doctor, and the director of the company “Good Doctor” Alexander Dechko for answers.
Homemade Milk: Not Recommended
All milk products we buy in stores undergo thermal processing – pasteurization. Pasteurization involves heating the product to 95 degrees, killing all microbes. Thanks to modern packaging, microbes cannot re-enter the product after pasteurization.
However, when consuming non-store-bought, so-called “homemade” products (from your own farm or purchased from neighbors), parents often try to avoid thermal processing to preserve nutrients. This approach is fundamentally flawed. If parents want to use homemade products in their child’s diet, they must consider several important points.
Health of the Animal
First, know the health of the animal (cow or goat) from which the milk is obtained. Cattle can be a source of numerous diseases dangerous to humans. Raw goat milk can also be a source of borreliosis, a disease carried by ticks.
Health of the Person Milking
Second, it’s crucial to know the health of the person milking the animal. They could be carriers of various intestinal infections or have inflammatory diseases that could contaminate the milk and subsequently infect the child.
Hygiene Practices
Third, parents must be fully confident in the personal hygiene and food hygiene practices of the person from whom they plan to buy milk. Many nuances matter: the container used for milking, the filtration process, storage conditions (duration and temperature), and the container used for transport.
Even with all hygiene rules followed, milk cannot be sterile. Therefore, using raw fresh milk in a child’s diet is not recommended. A child’s body lacks the same protective properties as an adult’s, and their barriers against intestinal infections are significantly lower.
Milk is rich in proteins and fats, making it an excellent medium for rapid microbial growth. This situation worsens in summer with high environmental temperatures.
If parents want to use fresh milk in their child’s diet, they must follow the main rule – mandatory thermal processing. This means using milk for preparing porridge, soups, cheesecakes, pancakes, homemade cottage cheese, etc. In this case, using homemade milk is acceptable as thermal processing kills all microbes.
Homemade Cottage Cheese: Only After Thermal Processing
The same applies to homemade cottage cheese: it’s important to have an initially clean product, prepare it correctly, and store it at the required temperature. If you do not prepare the cottage cheese yourself but purchase it, you can only use it in your child’s diet after thermal processing (casseroles, cheesecakes, etc.).
Additionally, remember that even a correctly prepared product, if stored at the wrong temperature, can lead to negative consequences. Dairy products must be stored exclusively in the refrigerator, not in cellars.
Other homemade dairy products (sour cream, cheese, etc.) can also be consumed following these rules.
Homemade Eggs: The Rule of Hard Yolk
Regarding the use of homemade eggs in a child’s diet, it is quite acceptable. However, since poultry can be a source of salmonellosis, eggs should only be used after proper thermal processing. For children, eggs should be boiled hard (i.e., the yolk should be firm). Fry eggs on both sides to ensure no liquid remains in the yolk.
Fruits and Vegetables: Watch the Quantity
When a child plays in the garden, they may be tempted to pick a ripe berry and put it in their mouth. This should be avoided. All fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed before consumption, and if possible, scalded with boiling water. Even products that will be peeled should be washed because microbes from the skin can transfer to the flesh during peeling.
Do not forget about the risk of allergic reactions that can be caused by an excess of vegetables and fruits. Therefore, when giving your child strawberries, for example, limit the quantity and observe how the child reacts. For the same reason, it is not recommended to give a child several types of fruits in one day – in case of an allergy, it will be impossible to determine which fruit caused it.
Remember, by following simple hygiene rules, you can protect your child from many diseases and make your joint vacation pleasant and joyful, rather than turning homemade products into a source of problems.
Water: No Wells
When traveling to the countryside or village, it is very important to take care of the water you will use for food purposes. In advance, find out what sources are available in the area and the quality of the water. If there is no drinking water in the village, it will need to be delivered from the nearest source or purchased in bottles.
Using water from open sources in raw, unboiled form is undesirable as there is always a risk of intestinal infections.
First Aid Kit
When traveling with children out of town, parents should have at least a minimal set of medicines that, if necessary, will allow them to provide emergency assistance to the child. First of all, this includes:
- Antipyretics
- Painkillers
- Antihistamines (anti-allergic)
- Medicines for treating intestinal infections
- Medicines for treating wounds (hydrogen peroxide, iodine, bandage, plaster)
- Thermometer
- If the child has any chronic diseases, then the set of medicines indicated for these diseases
When choosing medicines, consult a doctor in advance!
