Tweens + Eczema/Acne
The number one thing that pops into my head when a parent says their tween has eczema or acne is dairy. Little bits in a day can add up: milk on their cereal, cheese on a sandwich, choc chips on their muesli bar, sour cream on their tacos. It's definitely a food to be mindful of.
Gentle and natural skincare like Moogoo and Juniper are great. Have you downloaded the Yuka app yet? Weleda calendula nappy rash cream is excellent on itchy eczema.
Encourage your tween to live an active life! Make sure they're filling up their water bottle throughout the day.
We want the foods they're eating to be as minimally processed as possible. Less “packet foods” and more real foods to support this age of rapid growth. This is a great age to get them involved in the kitchen and grocery shopping.
Talk to your naturopath about if a good quality fish oil, zinc or probiotic would be necessary.
“Skin is a reflection of the gut.” Normalise talking about if they do a poo every day or if they get sore bellies. The more varied the plant fibres our tween eats, the more varied their gut bacteria will be which supports their digestive system. This means fruit, veg, grains like brown rice, nuts, seeds, etc. This may be a work in progress, but keep chipping away at it and start by setting the example yourself!