Your Healthy, Happy Child: Tips From Bend Naturopath
By Dr Emily Wiggins & Dr Kelcie Rosendhal
There's a lot you can do to help your child maintain optimal health and prevent the occurrence of common illnesses. For instance: Do you model healthy eating? Are you exercising as a family? Do you make time to play and relax? Teach your children the following self-care tips and you're helping them establish a lifetime of healthy habits.
Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body. Kids should brush and floss at least twice a day. Good oral hygiene benefits the whole body.
Clean Hands, Healthier Kids. A daily shower or bath is important, but it's routine hand washing that helps prevent the transfer of bacteria, reducing the chance of diarrhea, respiratory illness, and the common cold.
Guard Against Colds. Teach children to: avoid shaking hands or getting close to folks who are sneezing and coughing; refrain from sharing school supplies and toys with those who are sick; never drink or eat from another child's containers; always use tissues and cough into the crook of their elbow, not their hands.
Bug Prevention. Lice love warm, cozy places. To prevent the spread of head lice, kids should not wear hats indoors. They should never share brushes, combs, hats, hairbands, or athletic headgear. If lice are present at your child's school or daycare, consider a short haircut or styling long hair in a ponytail, bun, or braid.
Healthy Hydration. Water is essential to health. It helps flush toxins from the body, maintain healthy circulation, promote strong muscle contractions, facilitate digestion, and prevent dehydration.
Eat a Rainbow. A balanced diet includes a variety of colorful fruits and veggies, whole grains, and high-quality sources of protein. Involving your children in shopping and meal preparation empowers them to make healthy choices and try new foods. Eat at least one meal each day together as a family, without watching TV or having phones and other electronics at the table. This promotes mindful eating and encourages family communication.
A Little Sweetness. If you're modeling healthy choices around sweets, then it won't bother your kids (too much) that you're asking them to do the same. Point out the health problems associated with eating too much sugar (e.g., poor athletic performance, gaining weight, diabetes). However, don't deprive kids and don't label foods as good or bad. If they're making healthy choices 80% of the time, a little sweetness in their diet will be okay-and will be savored.
Strengthen Emotional Muscles. Encourage your child to journal, collage, write poetry or draw comics to express a range of emotions. A 'what's up' notebook between an adult and child encourages kids to open up, tell you about their day, even ask embarrassing questions. Adults who reply honestly and non-judgmentally find this is a great way to start difficult conversations or just get a sense of what's going on with their child. This works best if you start during the later elementary or early middle school years.
Family Values. Call a family meeting and find out what's important to each family member and what they think will contribute to a healthy, happy home life. For example, your family might identify respect, responsibility and communication as core values. This exercise sets up expectations for behavior inside and even outside your home. It helps kids feel accountable for their behavior toward themselves and other family members.
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Resources
Dudley, D., W. Cotton, and L. Peralta. "Teaching Approaches and Strategies That Promote Healthy Eating in Primary School Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 12 (2015): 28. Accessed 12 Feb 2018: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4416340/
KidsHealth.org. Site written for children to help them learn about a healthy lifestyle. http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/
CDC.Gov. "Show Me the Science: Why Wash Your Hands?" Accessed 12 Feb 2018: https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html
MayoClinic.org "Head Lice Prevention: What works, What Doesn't." Accessed 14 Feb 2018: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/head-lice/expert-answers/head-lice-prevention/faq-20058386
LiveScience.com "How Oral Hygiene Affects the Rest of You" Accessed 12 Feb 2018: http://www.livescience.com/40195-oral-health-body.html
MayoClinic.com "Oral health: A window to your overall health." Accessed 12 Feb 2018: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/dental/art-20047475