6 Steps To Take Care of Your Child's Health Before They Go Back To School
The summer is a great time to get things done. If your kids are used to sitting in a classroom all day, summer can be a great opportunity to let them rest, spend quality time with them and to check in on their wellbeing. You know your child best, and you are their main advocate in the world, so it makes sense that you'd want to pay extra attention to their health while you have some downtime. It is also the best time for you to get your child's teeth concerns fixed with the Childrens dentist in Vienna.
There are a few key points you can devote a little extra attention to this summer when considering your child's health. While nobody is perfect and no parent can do it all, doing the work to be consistent and caring regarding your child's wellness will benefit them for years to come.
1. Regularly Check In on Their Mental Health
Mental health care is important for people of all ages, including children. Just like adults have stressors and emotional blocks, kids have those experiences on their own scale. It's important to validate their feelings, ask them about their emotions and encourage them to explore their own ideas and mental state. Mental health care starts young, and if you begin to teach them early, they'll take to it much easier.
Encouraging self care practices such as creative expression, taking time to rest and journaling can be important for kids. That way, they'll learn those habits and keep them close as they grow.
2. Get Their Eyes Checked
Many parents don't think to get their child's eyes checked, but its much better to be safe than sorry. Even among the youngest of crowds, not all eyes are perfect. Experts say 10% of preschoolers have vision problems of some kind. If you notice your child often squints or has a hard time seeing, it might be a good idea to get their eyes checked so you can address the issue in time for them to return to school.
Sitting in a classroom squinting all day long is never comfortable, but kids often don't realize they have vision problems on their own. Taking them for a checkup is a great way to make sure everything is in order.
3. Monitor Their Screen Time
Thinking along the lines of eye health, another way to promote your child's overall well being this summer is limiting screen time. Summer is the perfect time for outdoor activities and soaking in the sunshine, so it might not be as hard to promote physical activity and healthy time spent in nature. Often, promoting other activities can be one of the best ways to limit screen time. In addition, talking to kids about the effects of screens, creating technology free zones and using parental controls can be useful.
Staring at screens all day can damage the eyes, harm the brain and promote a sedentary lifestyle. Although screens might keep your child quiet, it's worthwhile in the long run to promote healthier activities during the summer.
4. Promote a Healthy Diet
During the school year, it's easy to fall into habits of eating on the run, which can often lead to the occasional fast food meal or pre-packaged snack. This isn't the end of the world, but the summer provides an opportunity to take extra time to cook and prepare healthy, nourishing foods and spend quality time eating and enjoying them. This can act as a great reset for everyone, especially as the summer heat encourages people of all walks of life to hydrate and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.
5. Make Sure They're Getting Enough Sleep
The school system unfortunately doesn't prioritize this — especially for older kids and high schoolers — but kids need sleep. Kids of varying ages need different amounts of sleep, with toddlers requiring at least 11 hours and teens requiring at least eight. Often, kids' body clocks are better suited to going to bed later and sleeping later, especially as they move into their preteen and teen years.
Although it may seem effective to get kids out of bed as soon as day breaks so they can make the most of their time, they won't be able to make the most of each hour if they're tired, groggy and poorly rested. If the summer is their opportunity to get enough sleep, it's best to let them have it. If you are looking for more great advice for developing kids’ healthy sleep habits, have a read of this blog post here https://allthingsforkids.com.au/blogs/kids-blog/enough-sleep where you will find great actionable tips.
6. Take Them to the Dentist
If you notice that six months have come and gone without a dentist visit, taking a bit of time out of your summer schedule to bring your child in for a cleaning can do wonders. Even though they may just have baby teeth, caring for their oral health properly during their formative years is important for their prolonged health. If you can time your dentist visits so they're always in the summer — and the winter, by default — it'll make your visits even easier.
Summer provides so many opportunities to spend more quality time with your child. When you take the time to look after their health, you're teaching them that they deserve to look after their body properly. Thanks to you, they'll carry those values with them and return to school happy, nourished and ready to learn at their best.