As people, we ignored the significance of a healthy life until we were severely hit by the pandemic. Today, we understand the importance of staying fit and are looking for ways to keep our kids healthy too!

For better health and stronger immunity in kids, we have listed 10 health tips for children.

1. Encourage physical activities and exercise:

Get your kids out to play. Allow them to play their favourite games, sports, and other physical activities instead of watching TV or playing games on mobile. Make sure that your children go outside at least once every day. You can make it a joint activity along with your kids. Go for walking, jogging, gym, playing, swimming and so on. Indulging in tech-free time will help your children become mentally and physically more active and agile.   

2. Eating healthy breakfast:

As a part of healthy eating tips for kids, paediatricians emphasise on serving a nutritious breakfast to your children. Eating breakfast energises your body and maintains the energy throughout the day. Do not allow your children to skip breakfast, because eating a healthy breakfast every day is the basis of good health. You can encourage your kids to eat at least a banana with a glass of milk in the morning.  

3. Drink more water for good health:

Up to 60% of our bodies is water. Make sure your children drink enough water to keep themselves hydrated. Do not replace water with lime water, juices, milkshakes, aerated drinks, or sugar-sweetened drinks. Water maintains the balance of body fluids, manages body temperature, helps in digestion, circulation, absorption of food and nutrients, and other functions. 

4. Eat together as a family:

As a family get into the habit of eating at least one meal together. Sit down at the dinner table and eat regular meals with your family and kids. Do not replace meals with snacks or fast food. Though, occasionally you can order food from outside. Prepare fresh food of your and your children’s choice. Eating together will help kids learn valuable social skills and encourage them to share the happenings of their day.  

5. Select healthier snacks for munching:

Healthy tips for kids include eating nutritious snacks over chips, fried food, or crackers. You can also replace snacks with a fruit or a handful of unsalted nuts and seeds that are tasty and crunchy. 

6. Eat slowly for weight control:

Another kid’s health tip is to let your children eat slowly and chew the food properly. Slowly eating helps in weight control because studies show that it takes around 20 minutes for the brain to get the message that the stomach is full. Slow eating will prevent your kids from overeating and becoming obese. 

7. Eat colourful food:

Include a variety of fruits and vegetables into your diet. Ensure you eat all the vibrant coloured fruits and vegetables because each colour has a different effect on the body. The different colours of the fruits and veggies come from their natural plant chemicals that provide several nutrients to the body.

8. Importance of hygiene:

Hygiene is one of the most important health tips for children. Personal hygiene includes washing hands, bathing, and maintaining a clean and sanitised environment around.

9. Good sleeping pattern:

Make sure that your children get enough sleep to stay healthy. When we sleep, our body repairs and rebuilds itself. So, we need to get a good night’s sleep. Studies show that sleep-deprived children may have poor focus, suffer from depression, obesity, and other physical and emotional issues.

10. Significance of emotional health:

Let your kids feel their emotions, process their thoughts, explore their world, ponder on their ideas, and let them be! If children do not find emotional support and space to process their feelings, they may feel anxious and stress; this may weaken their immunity.

Conclusion

As parents, teach your kids to eat nutritious food and inculcate good eating habits. If your children are fussy eaters, you can give food supplements, such as vitamins and calcium gummies, to fill the nutritional gaps in the diet. Apart from this, inspire children to practise good social skills, play a lot of sports and games, and enjoy healthy community life. Tips on kids’ health do not stop at eating healthy food. It includes emotional well-being apart from physical and mental growth. Therefore, you must support kids whenever they need you.