5 Effective Ways To Keep Your Toddlers Healthy

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As a parent, you face countless responsibilities. However, you would agree that the most important one is ensuring your family is in good health. Although health is vital for each family member, it is even more important for growing children. Your toddlers are still building various components such as their cognitive skills, emotional well-being, as well as their physical and mental health. Therefore, you must create an environment that fosters this growth. But, this can be overwhelming— there’s so much to do, you don’t know where to start! Thankfully, you’ve come to the right place. Below are some tips you can implement to ensure your toddlers are healthy.

1. Encourage cleanliness

It sounds like an impossible task, doesn’t it? However, for your children to be healthy, you must limit their exposure to germs and other elements that can compromise their health. Instead of setting out a long to-do list, you can slowly implement the habit of cleanliness into your child’s routine. For instance, you can encourage them to pick up their toys when they’re done with them by providing storage boxes and joining them in packing up. This clean-up exercise may sound simple, but you avoid lots of injuries! You should also encourage them to wash their hands regularly. Toddlers are curious little creatures, touching everything! This means they may come into harmful bacteria and viruses every day. When they clean their hands regularly, the risk of spreading germs and catching various diseases is reduced drastically.

2. Reduce sugar

Kids love candy, and as an adoring parent, you may feel like there’s no harm in encouraging a sugar high or two. However, this may not be an entirely good idea. According to a study conducted by doctors of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a child’s daily meals consist of about 17% of sugar. Children who receive more than this daily amount are at risk of contracting chronic diseases such as high cholesterol as they age. Additionally, their dental health is compromised, causing cavities and other dental issues. Therefore, monitoring and reducing your toddler’s sugar consumption is advisable. You can replace the frequent consumption of sugary drinks with water and limit the consumption of these beverages to special occasions.

3. Regular health checkups

Regular health screenings are an important and effective way of ensuring your toddlers are healthy. As mentioned earlier, various components are vital to your child’s development. The truth is, you may not notice some conditions your child may have. Therefore, through regular health screenings, professional healthcare providers such as pediatricians and dentists can identify, treat, or prevent various health conditions. Health checkups are also good as they give you peace of mind or help you offer your child the right healthcare measures. For instance, assuming your family has a history of phenylketonuria. To know if your child is at risk, you can simply search “Phenylketonuria (PKU) doctors near me” to find a reliable specialist or have one recommended to you by your doctor. 

4. Serve a balanced diet

A meal containing a good balance of carbohydrates, vitamins, protein, fatty acids, and other essential minerals is important. However, you must be cautious in doing so. Naturally, children have preferred tastes. Although you wouldn’t want to give in to all their requests, it is important to at least hear them out. If you serve your toddler foods they do not enjoy, they may not eat as much as they should, making your efforts almost pointless. Therefore, it is recommended to include your children in the process. You can ask them what they’d prefer or pay attention to their preferences based on what you feed them. Honestly, it makes it easier! 

Experts also advise eating together during meal times. In addition to being a great time for you and your toddler to bond and helps them enjoy their meals. When they watch you eat and love your meal, they begin to mimic you. This makes it easier for you to get them to eat without forcing them to. 

5. Let them play

Playtime is an easy and effective way to keep your children healthy. The time they spend outdoors exploring, running, shouting, and doing what kids do ensures they get some physical activity. This also helps them release energy and encourages good sleeping habits and patterns. Additionally, their time outdoors also gives them a chance to soak in some Vitamin D, a much-needed element for growing children. 

Imaginative play is also important as it gives children a space to be creative and enjoy their own company. You can join them to get a glimpse of what goes on with their wildly imaginative minds and bond.