If you are a parent and you want to ensure that your children live a happy, healthy life, then you must start putting in the work now. The healthy habits that your children develop at an early age will stick with them forever and make a huge positive difference in their lives. However, it’s easier said than done.
It can be a bit challenging to raise healthy children. In today’s age, everything and everyone’s routine is fast-paced, and children are often glued to the TV or mobile screens. It thus requires effort from the parent’s side to raise healthy kids.
In this article, we will give you four tips for raising healthy children.
- Go For Regular Checkups:
As a parent, you must ensure that you normalize going for regular checkups with a doctor for your children. When children get used to visiting a healthcare provider regularly, it provides dual benefits. First, with regular visits, your child will become accustomed to the whole process instead of being threatened by going to the hospital or visiting a doctor. So when they grow up, they will know how to take better care of themselves if they get the doctor’s advice.
Second, their overall health improves as the doctor can ensure they are growing at the right pace, achieving all milestones, pointing out any symptoms of a health problem early on, etc. Development issues can be an indicator of birth injuries, and for children with special needs, regular visits to a healthcare provider are very important. Children suffering from birth injuries require extra care and attention, and you will need constant support and guidance from a doctor to ensure you provide them with the best care possible. Also, you can visit childbirthinjuries.com to understand more about birth injuries.
- Develop A Habit Of Washing Hands Frequently:
It is common for kids to fall sick due to germs transmitted through dirty hands. Dirty hands are the top germ transmitters, and if you don’t make a habit of your children washing their hands frequently, they will keep getting one infection or another. A group of researchers in London known as the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH) proved by their study that people’s hands were the number one source of spreading infections in households. We use our hands for doing pretty much everything; we carry things, touch things, and use things all with our hands. Thus, we must frequently wash our hands to get rid of germs because the other thing we touch quite often with our hands is our faces.
Germs usually enter a human’s body by a person touching their eyes, nose, or ears. And when your hands are dirty, you simply transfer the germs into your body. According to research, people touch their faces approximately 23 times an hour. And as children have even less control over themselves, they are said to touch their faces at least 50 times an hour. Imagine how easy and quick it is for germs from your child’s hands to enter their body and make them sick. Washing hands doesn’t only prevent diseases in kids, but in adults too.
Teach your kids to wash their hands every time after using the bathroom, playing with toys, touching the floor, putting on or off shoes, touching things in the kitchen, etc. The kitchen and bathrooms are found to be the most contaminated surfaces in a house by IFH.
- Adopt An Active Lifestyle:
A sedentary lifestyle is the enemy of a healthy life. You might notice your children becoming sedentary by sitting in front of screens all day, playing video games, or watching TV. Even though these things cannot be eliminated from their lives, you must put a limit on them. Encourage your kids to be active, play games outdoors, participate in sports activities, etc. The best way to achieve this goal is to make it a family matter.
Go for walks and hikes together, take your children to the park or for cycling or swimming, etc. Just make sure that the whole family joins in. This way, physical activities will not seem like a punishment but more like a fun family bonding activity. Your kids should have a physical activity of at least 60 minutes daily. If your kid cannot do some activity for an hour straight, break it into shorter bursts of activities.
Also, make sure to limit their screen time, as children become inactive with excess use of mobiles, and the food-related ads make them crave unhealthy food all the time. So set a daily or weekly screen time limit. Encourage them to do simple activities in the house instead of sitting or lying all the time. Replace their screen time with healthy physical activities. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says that for kids two years of age and older, TV time a day must not be more than 1 hour.
- Develop A Healthy Relationship With Food:
As a parent, you must keep in mind that while making sure your children eat healthily, don’t go overboard, or your children may develop an unhealthy relationship with food. It can cause severe health issues, including eating disorders like bulimia or anorexia. Always focus on healthy eating instead of restricting foods. Kids are not as mature as you are, and they cannot fully comprehend the whole concept of eating healthy.
Don’t make it too complicated for them, otherwise, they will associate a negative feeling with eating, which can lead to several health complications. If you restrict a food group completely from their diet, it will negatively impact their growth or development and how they look at food and healthy eating. Make sure that your kids consume all the healthy fruits and vegetables. They eat carbohydrates and good fats. They consume dairy according to their nutritional requirement. They get to have a sweet treat now and then. Keep healthy food at home so it’s more accessible.
Place a fruit bowl on the dining table or kitchen counter so that children will see fruits and eat them instead of junk food since kids usually eat whatever is in front of them. Ensuring your kids have a good relationship with healthy foods is the most important factor for raising healthy kids.
Conclusion:
A child’s health is every parent’s top priority. But raising healthy children can be tricky. But don’t worry; we are here to help you out. In this article, we go through why developing healthy habits in early childhood is important and what you can do to raise healthy children that will grow up to be healthy adults who care about their health, don’t fear going to the doctor, and have a good relationship with food and an active lifestyle.
