There are several ways to raise your child healthy. For example, immunizing children can help them fight vaccine-preventable conditions. The National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16) reveals that 54% of kids aged 1 year and 62% of 1-2 year-olds received all the basic vaccinations. Check the vaccination schedule and ensure that your child is vaccinated on time at the best children’s hospital in Hyderabad. A dose of the BCG vaccine can fight tuberculosis. Three doses of the DPT vaccine can protect against tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis) and diphtheria. A dose of measles vaccine and three of polio vaccine are also a must.
Here are 5 other useful tips to bring up a medically healthy kid.
5 Ways to Raise Medically Healthy Children
- Brush teeth using fluoride
Fluoride helps build and maintain the enamel which protects the teeth. Hence, it’s good to brush your kid’s teeth using fluoride toothpaste twice every day. This helps prevent dental decay.
- Teach proper handwashing
Young children touch their faces frequently. This lets germs transfer from their hands into their bodies.
So, train children to wash hands properly as follows:
- Wet the hands under clean, running water.
- Apply soap and rub them together. Lather between the fingers, at the back of the hands and under the nails.
- Scrub the hands for 20 seconds.
- Rinse them thoroughly with clean, running water.
- Dry the hands with a clean towel.
Teach your kids to wash hands:
- Before and after meals.
- After using a toilet.
- After sneezing, coughing, or blowing the nose.
- After touching animals and their waste or feed.
- After touching garbage.
During this pandemic, it’s more important to teach your child good hand sanitization.
- Do’s and don’ts of food habits
Help build a good food habit for children in the following ways:
- Ensure that they eat lots of water, fruits, veggies, whole grains, milk and some lean proteins.
- Make healthy foods look attractive to encourage kids to eat them.
- Keep only healthy foods at hand.
- Praise healthy food choices of kids.
- Add healthy portions on your children’s plates by preparing them in your kitchen, not the table.
- Dine with the family.
Here are a few things to avoid:
- Never use food as rewards to prevent bodyweight problems.
- Don’t let screen time overlap with mealtime.
- Enforce a regular bedtime
Insufficient sleep can impact the school performance of kids and make them hyperactive. It can also affect levels of leptin hormone which signals when to stop eating. So, children with inadequate sleep may also become overweight or obese.
Toddlers must sleep for 11-14 hours, pre-schoolers for 13 hours, and children (after kindergarten) for 11 hours. Accordingly, fix a regular bedtime routine so that your child sticks to it.
- Consult the paediatrician
Don’t put children on a diet on your own for any reason. Seek the paediatrician’s advice to plan a healthy diet for kids. Also, ensure that your child receives regular health check-ups at the best children’s hospital in Hyderabad. Early detection of any health condition allows prompt treatment.
Children imitate adults. So be their role model by practising and demonstrating healthy habits!