A child's overall health is more than their physical, emotional, and mental health. It also includes the health of their family as a whole, their community and their environment.
The choices you make regarding your child’s health will affect them throughout their life. These are decisions best made with plenty of thought and information. Below, we’ll go over some general tips on making healthy parenting choices.
Keep up to date on vaccinations
Vaccination is a vital tool for preventing your child from becoming sick with potentially life threatening illnesses.
Vaccines work by introducing your child’s immune system to a small bit of a germ, helping the immune system learn how to respond to that germ, should it be encountered in the future.
Recommended vaccines can vary according to your child’s age. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source recommends children receive the following vaccines at specific time points within the first 2 years of life:
- chickenpox
- diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough (DTaP); whooping cough is also known as pertussis
- flu
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
- pneumococcal conjugate (PCV13)
- measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)
Focus on a nutritious diet
The dietary choices you make for your child can influence their eating patterns when they’re older.
Additionally, an unbalanced diet can contribute to a variety of health conditions later in life, including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Because of this, aim to focus meals on:
- fruits and vegetables
- whole grains
- lean cuts of meat
- fresh fish
- poultry
- fiber-rich foods such as beans and leafy greens
Things to consider
Some examples of foods or beverages to avoid or limit are those that are high in:
- saturated or trans fats
- sodium (salt)
- sugar
- refined carbohydrates
Questions to ask your doctor
- Is he Alright?
- Is this anything Serious?
- When I have to come for another check up?