Parenthood is challenging, regardless of whether it is your first time or already preparing for your third one. As much as possible, a parent’s job is to provide their children with the best care growing up to be physically and mentally healthy. Hence, we try to avoid making even the slightest error that might jeopardize their growth and development along the way.
Having an excellent place to start will almost certainly assist your youngster in achieving their goals, both short- and long-term ones. Therefore, brushing up on the parenting know-hows from time to time is crucial.
Better diet for better growth
A well-balanced diet is essential because it stimulates the production of human growth hormones responsible for regulating the growth and development of your youngster. The most common GH deficiency symptom in children include aslower growth rate and reduced facial bone development.In addition, they may also notice unexplained decreases in muscle mass and experience low energy levels when they grow older.
Therefore, make sure that your children consume food that will provide enough proteins, vitamins, calcium, minerals, zinc, and other nutrients that their growing body needs. This can be through seafood, vegetables, poultry products, fruits, and grains. Note that their diet should be given extra care until they enter their teenage years.
Getting enough sleep
We must inculcate the value and importance of sleep as early as possible, especially as our children get older. Sleeping is the best method to stimulate growth hormone and helps keep the brain relaxed, and increases productivity. Moreover, according to experts, both sleep deprivation and oversleeping will likely increasevarious physical and psychological risksfor both adults and children. It may even lead to psychiatric disorders such as depression, bipolar disorders, and impaired thinking.
Therefore,experts recommend at least 9 to 11 hours of sleepdepending on the child’s age until they reach their teenage years. Moreover, to assist them in having a good night’s rest, consider setting a schedule for lights off and let them know what to expect during that time. Close any electronics and gadgets that will distract them, such as video games, TV, tablets, or smartphones, an hour before bed and provide them with anexcellent mattressto help their bodies relax.
Providing a non-toxic environment
It is essential to provide a good atmosphere for your little ones since their bodies undergo significant changes throughout their first few years in this world. Therefore, you need to create an enjoyable, stimulating, and comforting environment around them. Moreover, a healthy bond and communication will help increase their spatial cognition crucial for acquiring knowledge around them in the future. By actively participating in their interests and activities, a child’s intellect grows.
Let them explore and encourage being active.
According to experts, children should begin gettingregular exercises at the age of 7through active playtime. Moreover, dance lessons and jogging are two of the most beneficial hobbies for toddlers and preschoolers. On the other hand, if you have older children, you may start introducing them to outdoor activities such as bike riding, jogging, and participating in sports. These are essential for their physical development and social life.
Educational enrichment is also a must, so try to encourage your little ones to participate in any extracurricular events and activities offered by their school. Of course, relaxing and meditation such as yoga also improve and advance their development and growth. On the other hand, it would be best to postpone any strength training and weight lifting if your child is still under 18, as this might be detrimental to their growth.
Additionally, several issues might still impede your child’s growth, health, and development. Make sure that they are free from the stress of any kind and be there for them, especially when they need you the most. Studies show that children who experienced parental neglect arelikely to have substance use disorder, particularly throughout adolescence.
This is a sensitive phase in a child’s life that can cause enormous internal and external strain. Therefore, parents need to educate their children on how to confront difficulties and live a stress-free lifestyle. Adolescents are especially susceptible to the many life challenges, so parents must closely watch their child’s happiness and mental well-being.
Likewise, avoid allowing your children to become obsessed with social media or video games at a young age since this might have a severe impact on your child’s development in the future. Encourage new skills and hobbies, for example, sport activities such as swimming, and arts and crafts such as diamond painting. But, again, a good balance is the key. Parenting is continuous learning. Thus, we should be receptive to new changes and techniques and research more on the ones that can benefit our children and us along the way.
