10 Strategies for Boosting Your Child’s Health
Most of a child’s growth into a healthy adult occurs outside of the pediatrician’s office. Parents are always looking out to make small lifestyle choices in improving their child’s immune functioning, development, and overall well-being such as planning a safe and healthy pregnancy to ensuring children wear seatbelts during travels. Though it is not always an easy undertaking, these ten ways to improve children’s health are simple ways to make an impact.
1. Avoid passive smoking
Children and newborns who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to experience frequent and severe asthma episodes, respiratory infections, ear infections, and SIDS, among other health issues (SIDS).
2. Serve more fruits and vegetables
Every child needs the immune-boosting elements found in fruits and vegetables. These nutrients can boost the body’s synthesis of interferon – an antibody that covers cell surfaces to inhibit viruses, and white blood cells that fight infections.
3. Encourage them to exercise as a family
Just like adults do, children benefit from exercise in many different ways especially if it is done as fun family workouts at home or outdoors such as running, skipping, and dancing. Keeping children active helps to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, strengthening their bones, building their muscles, and boosting the production of natural killer cells. Just make sure to avoid vigorous activity within two hours of bedtime.
4. Set an early bedtime routine
It’s well known that proper and sufficient sleep is essential to a child’s development. Sleep deprivation can make children more susceptible to illness by reducing the immune system’s ability to attack microbes and cancer cells. Bedtimes are most useful when they’re consistent, so try to keep the same bedtime on weekends as on school nights. Varies on age, children require between 10 to 16 hours of sleep each day.
5. Set a tooth timer
A 2-minute countdown toothbrush timer or just digital applications with a little music can add fun while brushing children’s teeth. Untreated cavities can cause nasty pain and infections that may lead to problems with eating, speaking, playing, and learning.
6. Sing while hand washing
Hand hygiene has always been important, but it has become especially relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Help children learn the basics of infection control by encouraging them to sing the ‘Happy Birthday song while washing their hands with soap and water.
7. Let them serve in the kitchen
Giving a child a nutritious meal is not the same as teaching them about healthy habits. A child who helps with food preparation learns how to prepare nutritious meals as well as other life skills like patience and measurement.
8. Teach them to express their feelings
As crucial as children’s physical health, children should also learn early about mental health. Parents should provide their children the fundamental health and safety knowledge, introduce stress management techniques, and be role models to teach them about physical, emotional, and social well-being.
9. Keep kids at home when sick
Sometimes it feels impossible to put life on hold when a child becomes unwell a child’s chances of a quick recovery are significantly increased by a few days of rest. A child who continues to go to daycare or school could risk catching a secondary infection or even spreading the virus to another child.
10. Be someone they can look up to
Teaching a child to do the right thing is not always easy. However, children will inevitably look to their parents or caregivers as role models. The best thing a parent can do to improve their children’s health is to live their life healthily and safely.
