5 Tips Most Parents Forget: Keeping Your Kid Healthy - Friday Tips For Your Life by TeamDS/The Folks Behind DailyStrength: at DailyStrength Doctors and Advisors

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5 Tips Most Parents Forget: Keeping Your Kid Healthy - Friday Tips For Your Life

Posted in Children Of Div... by TeamDS on Oct 01, 2010

Children are on the whole remarkably healthy. They have tons of energy and heal quickly. However, with a little extra work on our parts, our children can avoid some of the more common health concerns that crop up in every child's life:

1. Wash their hands! This is an easy one to forget or avoid because it occurs so frequently. But as we all know, kids, especially young ones, touch everything and then put their hands in their mouths, nose, and eyes. Washing your child's hand thoroughly, and using soap and water every time, is a simple and fantastic way to curtail the number of colds a child catches.

2. Regulate their temperature. Young kids need help staying warm when it's cold, and cool when it's hot. Young children frequently kick off their covers while sleeping at night. If you turn off the heat at night and your house grows cold, you may wish to keep a small heater on near where they sleep. And kids that are overdressed and playing in the hot sun can get overheated. Make sure they're dressed appropriately through weather changes and depending on their activity level.

3. Keep them hydrated! Kids get caught up in playing outside (in the winter as well as the summer) and need to be reminded to drink water. The same goes for kids playing inside all day, especially if heaters or air conditioners are turned on, as they can dry the air. For health reasons, try not to rely on soda or juice. If you're not sure they're staying hydrated, you may need to regularly watch them drink their water.

4. Make sure they eat more than mac and cheese! Kids know our weak spots, and too often it's food. Some children will howl if told they need to eat their broccoli, but it's essential that kids get enough vitamins and minerals, as well as proteins and other components to a good diet in every meal.

5. Apply sunscreen. You may think if they're not burning or they have naturally darker skin, then it's ok, but that's not the case. Although getting a little sun is a good way to make sure we get enough Vitamin D, too much can cause immune system damage and melanoma (skin cancer).

Fortunately for parents there is a ton of useful information out there these days that can help all of us have healthy happy children! What's your tip for keeping children healthy?

Children's Health Tip: If your young child plays outside, take a quick but thorough head-to toe look at their body before they go to bed, in case they have any small injuries. It's a great way to locate scrapes or cuts and clean and disinfect them so that they heal quickly and without any problems.

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