My Body Strongest: 10 Health Tips for Children

These 10 health tips for children will help them in staying fit, healthy and strong. Read on to know your health essentials!

Remember the first time you learned to ride a bike? Getting the balance right was the most essential part of the whole experience. Once the balance is mastered, everything else from turning the pedals smoothly, driving the wheels, and getting the bike moving falls into place.

Our bodies are just like that; they are learning to ride a bike. A balanced diet can only ensure the healthy and smooth running of our bodies. And for the smooth running, choosing the right kind of food and adopting healthy eating habits is very important.

1. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

Starting a day with a healthy, king size breakfast is a great health tip for children. It is just the thing that they need to start their day with strength and vitality. After a good night’s sleep, their energy levels in the morning are generally very low. So to get them up and running give them a breakfast that is packed with lots of carbohydrates; foods that will give a shoot to their body’s energy levels. A toast with butter or cereals with milk, fruits, honey and yogurt are the kind of foods your child needs.

2. The high fives

The second health tip for children is to include fruits and vegetables as a major part of their diet. Fruits and veggies give us the most essential vitamins, minerals and fibers. Make sure to include at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables as part of every meal and as tasty snacks for your child.

3. Broaden the menu, improvise

It is very important to improvise and try different kinds of food instead of sticking to only one set. Our bodies need 40 different varieties of nutrients each day. Also having the same food each day can become monotonous. A change in taste can not only change their minds but also encourage them to try eating different foods.

4. Go for the grain

Whole grain snacks such as oats, barley, millet and quinoa are super grains that ensure that your munchkin’s daily dietary fibers requirements are met. They are excellent sources of minerals and vitamins.

5. Food can be fun; be creative

Making food nutritious as well as fun and tasty is a great health tip for children. That doesn’t mean you have to shut your child up each time she asks for a packet of chips. Don’t ban junk food but condition them. The supply is in your hands. Your kid won’t crave for the packet of crisps or a glass of cola if she doesn’t see it. The trick is that you need to up your creative antennae for much of the time. Choose healthy snacks yourself and then give them choices. They can’t choose if they can’t see; and they have to choose from what they see and have been offered.

While juices have valuable nutrients that give a boost to the child’s energy levels, going for water instead of their sugar substitutes is highly recommended.

6. Drink plenty of fluids

This is one health tip for children that is not given enough importance. Drinking lots of water as part of each meal is a healthy way of cutting down on the sugar intake in the form of juices.

While juices have valuable nutrients that give a boost to the child’s energy levels, going for water instead of their sugar substitutes is highly recommended. Many infants, toddlers and preschoolers suffer from constipation, so water intake is doubly crucial. Keep juices and other sweet drinks as part of occasional treats.

7. Grow your own food

Growing your own veggies and fruits can be a fun activity that you can do with your kids. It is also a great way of teaching your kids where the food they eat comes from. Also, with the rising levels of pesticides and insecticides in the vegetables and fruits available in the markets these days, going organic and growing your own stuff is a sure shot way to healthy living.

8. The family that eats together sticks together

Meal times should always be a family affair. Having meals together is a great way to teach your child the most valuable social skills. Also, having meals together on the dining table and not in front of a television ensures that we do not overeat as we are aware of our body’s food requirements and know when to stop. Regular overeating can lead to obesity.

9. Take care of your child’s teeth

Brushing your child’s teeth twice daily should be an essential part of his or her daily routine. Eating foods that have high composition of sugar and starch all through the day play a major role in tooth decay. So brushing teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste is very important. Also you should keep your child from eating any more food and drinking anything but water after brushing. Ensure that your child does not go to sleep with a bottle in his or her mouth, as this leads to tooth decay.

Ensure that your child does not go to sleep with a bottle in his or her mouth, as this leads to tooth decay.

10. Get moving! Be active

Every child is different and engaging them in different types of physical activities is a very important health tip for children. Outdoor activities irrespective of the weather should be an important part of their daily lives for their physical growth and development. A bike becomes rusty if not put to use; similarly our bones and muscles tend to stiffen if we don’t flex them regularly. Being active and indulging in outdoor activities helps us in keeping our heart healthy and bones strong.

Image via Shutterstock.

Jyotishree Mohanty

A part time backpacker, an accidental baker, a doting mother, a loving wife, a pampered

Learn More