We all like to view our children as happy-go-lucky, energetic bundles of joy, but that isn’t always the case. Like us adults, kids get sick and stressed out all the time, but, unlike us, they don’t always know what they can do to do to help themselves and boost their physical and mental health. This is where you come in; As a parent, it is your job to ensure that your kids are as happy and healthy as they can possibly be. Unfortunately, this isn’t always an easy job, but parenting rarely is. If you want to help your child to become a happier and healthier individual, here are twelve things you can do.
- Ensure They Wash Their Hands
Children are mucky creatures, so it’s practically impossible to know where their hands get to throughout the day. Because of this, it’s important that you encourage your little ones to wash their hands frequently. This means before and after eating, after touching or playing with pets, after using the bathroom, and after sneezing or coughing. This is the best way to prevent the spread of bacteria and germs, and, as such, should keep your little one from getting a bug.
- Keep Vaccinations Up To Date
Despite what some people claim, there is very little to no evidence that shows that vaccinations are in any way dangerous to children. In fact, vaccinations prevent danger, as they keep your little one safe from some incredibly nasty, and sometimes life-threatening, illnesses diseases. Because of this, it’s crucial that you keep yours and your child’s vaccinations up to date. They won’t like the needle, and neither will you, but you’ll like it a lot more than getting sick.
- Make Sure They Stay Hydrated
Most of our bodies are made up of water, so it should be no shock that water is important when it comes to your physical and mental health. Because of this, you should encourage your little one to drink water from a young age, as this will keep them hydrated and avoid dehydration, as well as all of the nasty symptoms that come with it. If they resist or don’t fancy the taste, then you could add some slices of fruit to your glasses for some fun and a bit of flavor.
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Offer Plenty Of Healthy Foods
Your diet can affect your mood, energy levels, and everything in between, which is why it’s so essential that you feed your child three healthy and nutritious meals every single day. Offer plenty of different fruits and vegetables and try to limit exposure to sugary drinks and junk food. You should also try to incorporate as many anti-anxiety foods into their diet as possible, to help fight the stress and anxieties they have to face.
- Let Them Have A Treat
Although you should limit your child’s exposure to junk food and sugary drinks, you shouldn’t ban them from their diet completely. All this will do is make your kid crave them even more, which could set them up to have eating problems in their later life. Instead, you should allow them to have junk food now and then as a treat. This way, it will slowly lose it’s awe, to the point where your child will treat it like any other type of food and eat it in a balanced way.
- Allow Them To Skip School
We all need a break now and then, and children are no exception to this rule. Kids have to face tests, homework, falling outs with friends, bullying, and so much more, so, when your little one wants to have the day off school, you should seriously consider letting them. This is especially true if your child is sick. There’s no point in forcing your kid to work when they’re ill because it will only make them feel worse. Instead, you should encourage them to rest and rehydrate.
- Stick To A Bedtime Routine
As you can read on any sleep guide for parents, lack of sleep can have some incredibly negative effects on your child. It makes them tired, emotional, cranky, and makes it incredibly difficult for them to focus on anything, especially their school work. Because of this, you need to do what you can to ensure that your kid is getting enough sleep every night. You can start by setting a bedtime and creating a bedtime routine that you will stick to and follow every single night.
- Find Fun Ways To Exercise
With popularity for games consoles, tablets, and smartphones growing, it’s getting more and more difficult to get our kids off the couch. However, it’s important that you do if you want your child to be a happy and healthy individual. Because of this, you need to minimize screen time in your home and encourage your child to exercise. It’s important that this exercise is something fun, like swimming or soccer, or your little one will see it as a chore and won’t want to participate.
- Take Something Off Their Schedule
You need to make sure that your child is active, both physically and mentally, but that doesn’t mean that they need to be doing something every minute of the day. All this cause is stress and exhaustion, which could make your kid sick. Instead, you need to take a look at their schedule and consider taking off an activity or two to free up some time. This gives them a chance to kick back, relax, and give themselves a break.
- Create A More Organized Household
Chaos and disorganization can wreak havoc on your child, causing their stress and anxiety to spike massively. To avoid this, you need to try to create a more organized household. This is especially important on mornings before school, as a stressful morning can affect your kid for the rest of the day. This means that you should create a morning routine so that everyone knows what they should be doing, and make sure that you pack bags and lunches the night before.
- Ask Them About Their Day
As much as we hope our kids will come to us when they have a problem, this is rarely the case. Because of this, you need to open up the lines of communication by asking them how their day has been. This shows your child that you are interested and that you care, which should encourage them to confide in you when they have an issue. If they open up, make sure you stay calm and engaged and do your best to help them come to a solution on their own.
- Take Them For Check-Ups
You see your child every single day, so you might think that you’d notice if and when they get sick. Unfortunately, some illnesses can go undetected for a long time, which is why it’s so vital that you take your little one for regular check-ups with your doctor. After all, they have years of training and are much more equipped to detect and diagnose illnesses. They can also give you advice on exercise, healthy eating, and mental health in children to keep you on the right track.
As a parent, it is your job to ensure that your child is happy and healthy. Unfortunately, like many areas of parenting, this task can be a challenging and complicated one. Of course, every child is different, but, hopefully, the tips above help you and give you an idea of some of the things you need to be doing.
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