Top self-care tips for kids in their growing stages

Given how stressful and busier modern households have become in the recent times, parenting a child has become a more difficult task as compared to that in past years. The lack of support and care and diversion of mind from more important activities and bonds have increased the chances of irregular mental health among the children of the current era.

So, in order to maintain a healthy balance, it is important to nurture the children with all the best possible amount of care and practices. Following are some important self-care tips, which will only help your children to grow healthy and follow a positive approach to life:-

1. Maintain a regular sleeping schedule – For maintaining the mental health of younger kids, proper amount of rest is of utmost importance. The sleeping schedule of kids should be longer as compared to the people who are in their adolescence. The practice of ‘early-to-bed-and-early-to-rise’ should be followed for the kids from their younger days itself, which will help in building up consistency in the longer run. For kids, it is suggested to have a sleeping duration of 8-9 hours, which will keep them away from sleep deprivation. Following this will reduce mood swings and enhance the activeness of the brain for the years to come.

2. Follow a proper daily routine – It is very important that your child gets ample amount of attention and routine from all of its elders at home. For this, maintain a proper daily routine for all the activities – sleeping hours, study time, play time and other recreational activities. This will ensure in development of proper time management for various activities and chores at a very young age – a trait which will be beneficial in a longer run when it comes to professional commitments too.

3. Engage in creative activities – The modern day children are more into gadgetries and electronic games, which to some extent is both good and bad. While it sharpens the brain responses and reflexes, it definitely is not a healthier practice to follow, which can lead to dizziness, irritation and eye related weaknesses. Encourage them to engage in more creative hobbies like music, art, and dance, which have both the benefits of physical health as well as stronger mental health.

4. Eat healthy – The consumption of junk food or outdoor food with low nutrient levels among children too has become a very common thing. If done in excess, it will only lead to obesity and their hatred towards foods rich in nutrients, which will invite more health related issues at later stages of their adolescence. So, it is recommended to give them foods rich in nutrients, like fruits, whole grains, green vegetables and pulses. You can also play along with creative recipes with these food items, which will have interesting taste levels without compromise on the required nutrient levels in them.

5. Replacing outdoor sports with electronic games – Again, in addition to the creative hobbies, children should be encouraged to play more outdoor games as compared to the games which they play on electronic gadgets like mobile phones, tablets or computers. Studies in the past have already shown that the children who play outdoor games are healthier, fitter and more active than the ones who do not. Playing outdoor sports which require consistent physical activity like football, badminton, cricket, athletics or tennis will not only keep the children physically active, but also mentally alert and happy.

6. Encourage them to socialize more – It is not only the people in their youth or adolescence, but also younger kids who do need to socialize more when it comes to their mental and emotional growth. Given the times of isolation and social distancing in the COVID era, this practice is a bit difficult, but not impossible. The kids should be encouraged to make new friends while playing, in school or various social gatherings, which will only enhance their ability to speak more, build up self-esteem and connect better with people. This will only help them in building connections in later stages of graduation and professional life.

7. Limit screen time – While other recreational activities are more important for physical and mental health as a whole, to keep your children stay updated to the latest information and mental activity, their adaptability to gadgets should not be discarded at once. The only need is to limit the usage of gadgets to a lesser duration of time, and in the process, they should use the electronics like phones, televisions and computers for playing games, gather the latest information and enhance their studying methods. Monitor what your child is seeing on the internet, which is a difficult process, but can be done with better understanding and communication.

While all these steps need mutual attention from parents as well, one can always reach a proper trained professional or pediatrician for better results and scope of enhancements.