Keeping Your Children Healthy

Your idea of staying healthy may be to skip having chips for lunch or to cut back on soda, but most of us want more for our children. We see how delicate they are, and we want to do everything we can to protect them.

 From the moment your children are born, you can do your part to keep them healthy. Yet not everyone recognizes the powerful influence they have on their children's health or the many stressors that today's children face. A recent poll has shown that adults believe that children are actually more unhealthy now than in the past -- particularly their mental and emotional health.

Here are a few things that you can do to keep your children healthy, starting from the first day they come into this world:

Make Smart Choices in their Surroundings

Environmental toxins can have a huge influence on health, and they can be found in everything from your baby furniture to the paint on your walls to the dye in their clothes. It is important that you do your research and buy products that have the least amount of harmful byproducts in them as possible.

Shop at reputable furniture retailers like Baby Cubby, and then look for green kids toys and clothing that are organic and do not contain VOCs and other hazardous chemicals. Do the same for the paint you buy, the art you hang on the walls, and the rugs you put on the floors. Always read labels, and ask a lot of questions before you buy.

Establish a Routine Right from the Start

Babies aren't much for routines at first. They basically sleep and eat whenever the mood strikes -- even if that turns out to be incredibly inconvenient for your own schedule. But you have to establish a routine as early as is feasible so you can start enforcing healthy practices.

Enforcing consistent sleep and wake times ensures that your children get the right amount of sleep they need. (You may not be able to be as consistent with your baby, but ensuring the total overall hours of sleep is key.) Having a bedtime routine that includes teeth brushing enforces this healthy habit to encourage it for life. Regular meal times teach children healthy eating habits. 

By establishing a routine, these habits become second nature for your children so you do not have to fight with them to do them later in life.

Feed them a Healthy Diet

It almost goes without saying that you need to feed your children healthy foods to keep them healthy. However, most parents end up giving in to McDonald's and other junk food because it just makes meal times so much easier.

Even though it may be a fight, it is a fight worth having. Find ways to sneak fruits, vegetables, and whole grains into your children's meals, such as putting little pieces of broccoli in a pasta dish or blending up some spinach in a smoothie.

Just be careful not to make meal time into a battle. You want to teach children to love to eat healthy foods, not to have issues over food.

Give Vitamins and Supplements

Even with all your best efforts, you won't always be able to get children to eat healthy. You can make up for what they don't get with quality vitamins and supplements -- but the key word here is quality. Many kids' vitamins are little more than candy, so it's important that you read the label carefully.

Always consult with your doctor before you give your children any vitamin or supplement to make sure they are safe. Also, do not over-rely on the use of vitamins or supplements. They are no substitute for healthy eating.

Go to Regular Doctor and Dentist Visits

Your children may seem "fine," but they could have a lingering illness or health condition that could be causing problems. The only way to know for sure is to take them to regular doctor checkups. Go for a well-child visit at least once a year, and get flu shots and other recommendations from your doctor.

Go to the dentist at least twice a year for a checkup and cleaning, and fill any cavities as necessary. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in these cases, and these seemingly benign visits will have a huge impact on your children's health.

Encourage Plenty of Play

Children today are overworked and over-stressed. They aren't given the chance to be children. Make sure they get plenty of opportunities to play so that they can enjoy the chance to just be kids.

Play also gives them the chance to move their bodies and to learn. The active exploration that occurs during play helps them understand many concepts, and collaborative play teaches them social skills.

Make sure you always dress your children appropriately for the weather to minimize the risk of colds and other illness. Use bug spray to protect against disease-carrying ticks, and use sunblock even on cloudy days.

You are your child's guardian for the first 18 years. Make sure you are helping to establish healthy habits and giving your children the best start in life.

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Keeping Your Children Healthy