When the fun summer days are over and the cold days of autumn and winter are near, kids can start to feel the stress and pressure of their school year. Seeing our kids healthy is a priority. Although we cannot control everything, we can work on keeping them as healthy as possible during this time of the year.
As kids get back to the routine of school and activities it is important to try and keep them as healthy as possible. With a few simple changes, see how you can help keep them both physically and mentally healthy this school year – we have 10 proven tips that will help.
Keep Your Child Healthy with These Top Tips
#1. Give Them the Right Food
Mood swings can lead to frustration, imbalance and a lack of concentration. Often, these moods can be avoided by simply cutting out (or cutting down) sugar. Give them foods high in protein, whole grains and foods with natural sugar, such as chicken, eggs, oatmeal and fruit.
Start the day right with a healthy breakfast and make sure their lunchbox is filled with healthy, nourishing food too. Don’t forget some healthy after-school snacks too, as this if often when the sugary options are most requested.
#2. Boost their Immune System
More than just to help them focus, use food to boost your kids’ immune system – this is a fantastic way to keep your child healthy.
Foods rich in Omega-3 and fruit high in vitamin C; raw vegetables and legumes like barley are all power foods that will help to keep them from getting sick every other week.
#3. Don’t Overload Their Schedule
Piano, ballet, football and all the other extracurricular activities are all opportunities for your kids to acquire new skills – but it’s important not to overload their schedule. At the end of the day, a kid needs to enjoy some free time, which brings us to the next point…
#4. Let Them Get Bored
It’s perfectly fine for your kids to get bored. In fact, experts encourage unstructured time for kids because it teaches them to come up with creative ways to pass the time. Boredom gives children a chance to develop their imagination, to think and to daydream.
Looking after your child’s mental health and reducing the stresses of their busy life is an essential aspect of keeping your child healthy too – so make time for relaxing, for going on a walk, for cuddles and chats.
#5. Invest in Active Toys
When they spend hours sitting down at school and more hours playing video games at home, inactive children can gain weight, they can feel more frustrated, nervous and stressed.
Investing in active toys that encourage them to move, such as a small trampoline, a hula hoop or a jump rope, will help your kids unwind and move in a fun way.
#6. Limit Gadget and Screen Time
It can prove impossible to forbid them from using gadgets, but you can set time limits so that they don’t spend hours glued to a screen. Despite how entertaining and educational apps and games can be for children, too much screen time can lead to anxiety, problems with sleep and weight problems
Screen time undoubtedly has a whole range of benefits, but it is very easy for it to be unproductive and for the time to just fly by. Take a look at the pros and cons of screen time, as well as some great recommendations from Mom Loves Best:
#7. Keep their Hands Busy
Sometimes, worries about school, difficulty with their homework, or a fall out with a friend can stop them from thinking of anything else. Keeping their hands busy, through fun crafts or by helping you with easy chores, is a helpful way to keep their mind off the serious issues for a little while. Thus giving them a mental break.
#8. Playdates Are a Must!
Whether it’s siblings playing outside or two friends meeting in a park, playing and interacting in the real world, more than interacting through social media, is a must for many reasons.
Playing outside in nature will give your child a much needed mental break. Moreover, it’s a good way of meeting peers and having a laugh or venting out their insecurities, so that they will feel reassured that they have a support system outside of the family.
#9. Strike a Balance Between Work & Play
We all want our kids to excel academically, but giving priority to play, where our kids can rest, is essential to see them grow happy, healthy and enjoying their childhood.
#10. Get Them to Sleep
Sleep can cure everything — mood swings, a headache and even help them forget an embarrassing memory that happened at school. Your kids will be more focused, happy and less likely to get sick when they get enough hours of sleep.
And if you’re unsure how many hours of sleep is needed each night to keep your child healthy, here’s how much sleep your kids should be having for their age.
About the Author: Hilary Smith
