Leaky Gut in Kids: What Every Mom Needs to Know

If your child struggles with allergies, food sensitivities, constant infections, tummy aches, or even mood swings, you are not alone. What most parents don’t realize is that all of these can be connected to something called leaky gut.

This is one of the most common root causes I see in kids, and it often explains why symptoms keep coming back even after medications, creams, or temporary fixes.

What Is Leaky Gut?

I like to picture the gut lining as a fence that surrounds your child’s body. When it is strong and secure, it carefully lets the good things in like vitamins and nutrients and keeps the bad things out like toxins, bacteria, and undigested food particles.

But when the gut gets inflamed and the protective barrier breaks down, that fence becomes “leaky.” This is called leaky gut or increased intestinal permeability.

What happens next:

Food particles and toxins slip into the bloodstream where they don’t belong
The immune system sees them as invaders and attacks
This creates more inflammation and more symptoms

It becomes a cycle that repeats until the gut lining is strengthened again.

If you haven’t already read my first blog, → The Gut Microbiome: The Missing Link Behind Allergies and Chronic Symptoms, go back and check it out. It explains how the gut microbiome is like a community of workers that keep the whole system running and why things break down when that community is out of balance.

Signs of Leaky Gut in Kids

You might be surprised at how many symptoms are connected to leaky gut. Some of the most common ones I see include:

Allergies and food sensitivities
Chronic coughs or repeated ear and sinus infections
Tummy aches, constipation, bloating, or diarrhea
Eczema or skin rashes
Fatigue or low energy
Mood swings, anxiety, or difficulty focusing
Hormone changes in older kids or teens

If your child has more than one of these, leaky gut could be part of the picture.

What Causes Leaky Gut?

There are many things in a child’s environment that can weaken the gut lining. The biggest culprits include:

Antibiotics and certain medications
Processed foods and sugar
Gluten and dairy in sensitive kids
Environmental toxins and pesticides
Stress and poor sleep

An imbalanced gut microbiome with too few “good” bacteria and too many “bad” ones
Over time, these stressors chip away at the gut wall, making it easier for leaky gut to develop.

First Steps to Strengthen the Gut Lining

The good news is that leaky gut can heal. It takes time, but small daily shifts add up. Here are some of the first steps you can take at home:

Prioritize whole foods. Focus on real, nutrient-dense foods and minimize packaged snacks and sugary treats
Add gut-healing nutrients. Foods like bone broth, chia seeds, flax, sweet potatoes, and berries all help nourish the gut lining
Rotate foods. Avoid giving the same foods every day. Variety reduces food sensitivity risk and feeds diverse bacteria
Support detox. Hydration, sleep, movement, and play all support the body’s natural detox pathways
Consider supplements. With the right guidance, probiotics, L-glutamine, or colostrum can help repair and protect the gut lining

How I Help Families Restore Gut Health

I’ve seen this in my own family. My son went through years of chronic coughs, repeated ear and sinus infections, allergies, and digestive issues. We kept getting temporary relief with antibiotics and medications, but the symptoms always came back. Once I focused on healing his gut and strengthening his gut lining, the cycle started to break.

I’ve walked this path in my own body too. I struggled with acne, hormone imbalances, ovarian cysts, and later a major setback after sepsis. Healing my gut was one of the keys to restoring my health.

That is why I created the Holistic Healing School for Moms. Inside, I walk you step by step through how to support your child’s gut health, strengthen their immune system, and finally get to the root of recurring symptoms.

If you want to understand your child’s gut more clearly and start making simple, sustainable changes, grab my free Gut Health 101 Guide. It breaks down the basics and gives you practical first steps.

👉 [Download the free Gut Health 101 Guide here]

Your child’s body was designed to heal. When you repair leaky gut, you give it the chance to do exactly that.

References

Rajvanshi R, et al. Role of Dysbiosis and Leaky Gut Syndrome in Allergic Diseases. Journal of Pediatric Pulmonology. 2023. Link
Han H, et al. The Association Between Intestinal Bacteria and Allergic Disorders. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. 2021. Link
Farnetano L, et al. Gut microbiome features in pediatric food allergy. Frontiers in Allergy. 2024. Link
Michalik M, et al. Alteration of indicator gut microbiota in patients with chronic sinusitis. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. 2023. Link
Davis C, et al. Gut microbiome in the first 1000 days and risk for childhood allergy. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. 2024. Link
Casali L, et al. The Microbiota in Children and Adolescents with Asthma. Children. 2024; 11(10):1175. Link