What does it mean to buy a child’s health? When something happens to our children’s health, we are willing to pay any amount of money and give the last of it to make them healthy again.

Why do our children get sick? After all, according to the World Health Organization, on average only 5% of all diseases on our planet are hereditary, the other 95% are acquired during the life of the child. And this raises a reasonable question: can we teach our children how to stay healthy?

All the best for the children!

This mantra comes from the mouth of every caring parent. We start giving the best things to our children at birth: pajamas and sweaters (whether they are made of very good cotton or designer clothes from Dior or Fendi), pacifiers and toys (as long as they are not fake!), cribs and strollers, creams and complementary foods. All these things are given by parents, grandparents, best friends and relatives. When a baby grows up, he tries to determine the best or even private kindergarten, recorded in many circles (drawing, English, theater, swimming). The parental instinct works here – to give what will bring their child the most benefit, or what they dreamed of themselves.

However, something is missing in this care and custody. You’ve got it right: it’s to take care of the children’s health.

As a rule, we do not pay attention to this factor until the child gets ill. Sometimes we listen to the advice of parents and elders about what to feed the child, what to eat, what vitamins to give, how often to walk with them… But is our experience and that of our parents always the best guide to action?

In our era, the specialization of scientific research, including health research, is quite high. Scientific discoveries, revisions or additions to theories occur almost every day. And the best part is that in the age of the Internet and globalization, this knowledge is becoming available to all of us. Naturally, the natural question arises: can we trust what is written on the Internet? Or in any other mass media? This question should be answered in the affirmative, with the caveat, however, that only information provided by a competent source, an expert, should be trusted.

The main causes of childhood diseases. What do the experts say?

The most common causes of childhood illnesses are:

1. Irrational nutrition (poor balance of proteins fats and carbohydrates, insufficient amounts of micronutrients and vitamins, improper heat treatment of food, foods not appropriate for their age);
2. Poor prophylaxis, both during intrauterine development and after birth;
3. Insufficient hygiene, including rest and activity;
4. Poor water and air quality. It is also very important what kind of water the child drinks and what kind of air he breathes, how often the rooms where the child is is ventilated;
5. Excessive consumption of sweets. According to the Medical University of Vienna, the consumption of sweets (including sugary drinks) in German-speaking countries has increased 97-fold in the last 100 years! The incidence of diseases associated with excessive glucose intake has risen by exactly the same factor. This leads to a higher incidence of tooth decay, obesity, and even hypertension in older years;
6. Injuries. It is impossible to avoid injuries at a child’s age, but it is important to explain to a child what danger is, to teach safety techniques, how to behave in unusual situations, to instill in him minimal first aid skills;
7. Stress. Nowadays, more and more adults suffer from stress. Children often suffer from emotional overload and are even more stressed than adults. Parents cannot always recognize the beginning of this problem, so psychologists recommend preventive visits to a psychologist.

Another important part of children’s health should not be forgotten: healthy teeth. Here are some recommendations from pediatric orthodontists:

• Start brushing your child’s teeth as early as possible. Ideally, when the first tooth erupts;
• The first visit to the pediatric dentist should be made at the age of 2-2.5 years;
• At 6-7 years of age, recommended to visit an orthodontist, and once every six months, a preventive check-up at the dentist;
• Up to the age of 8, the parent either brushes the child’s teeth before bedtime, or conducts a mandatory checkup after brushing on their own;
• You should try to keep your child’s baby teeth as long as possible. Premature extraction of milk teeth often leads to malocclusion.

It is also important to limit your child’s consumption of sweets. Here are some rules on how to eat sweets:

• Sweets should not be the last or first meal in the diet;
• After eating sweets, it is best to eat a solid fruit or vegetable (apple, carrot), rinse your mouth, or brush your teeth;
• The amount of sweetness eaten should be adequate – 50-100 grams per day;
• If your child really likes lollipops – choose lollipops that are small in size and made of real juice. Remember: spending a long time in your mouth with sweets (candy) causes tooth decay 100% of the time.

How to raise a healthy child?

If you want to give your child “the best,” it is important not only to surround him with love, comfort, and buy him whatever he wants. Giving your child “the best” also means teaching manners and habits, traveling around the world, developing hobbies, teaching foreign languages, developing creative talents in your child. “All the best” also means taking care of the child’s health, teaching him hygiene, accustoming him to healthy food, to sports. And that is what it is important to pay our parental attention to.

Parents are role models for their children. This should always be remembered, especially in the early years of a child’s life.

Logical thinking in children does not work as well as in adults. It is difficult for a child to understand why he should brush his teeth. It is difficult for him to imagine that in a few years he will have bad teeth, because he is not yet able to think in terms of years. But if mom or dad together with the child buy a beautiful baby brush, choose a toothpaste and then brush together in the morning and evening, it will become a habit, because the child will do the same thing as the adults – their parents!

The same model of behavior can be used in other areas, such as good nutrition. It is unlikely to succeed in weaning the child from sugary carbonated drinks if the parents themselves like to drink them. By the way, if you yourself are a fan of soda, try to give it up for a month or two, and then try again – will you like the taste?

Instead of sugary carbonated drinks, your child should be offered juices, preferably freshly squeezed, because juices from a bag are not much better than sugary drinks. Fortunately, there are many juicers and food processors for making juices and smoothies. You can point out that a smoothie is an unusual drink that you can’t buy in a store. By doing this, you will show your child that he is getting something special.

The same rule applies to fast food. If you want to encourage your child to learn better or to be obedient, it is undesirable to motivate him with fast food. It is better to offer him an unusual dish of rare fruits or vegetables. If you eat at home – turn the process of cooking and serving the table into a game, when the child is involved in the process, he then eats better.

If you plan to feed your child not at home, choose a special place where you will go with him. The following method works well: you together with children make a menu for a week, choose dishes, select products, and children help you in cooking, make drawings on this topic. So they gradually get used to the fact that you have to think about what you eat – whether it’s useful or not.

Talking about such obvious things as playing active games and playing sports together seems trivial already. But they not only strengthen the child’s health, but also help him to find friends faster.

And most importantly: following these primes and tips, you will not only be able from an early age to really give the best to your child, but also to get closer to him psychologically, becoming a friend to him, which is especially important in the teenage years. A nice bonus: you yourself will pay more attention to your health!