Becoming a parent is a total whirlwind ride, and despite all the positives, it can sometimes feel like your hands are overflowing with work. Taking care of children is a full-time task, and there are a million things you need to do at any given moment. There’s a lot of responsibility too, and it can feel like slipping up isn’t ever on the cards.
As a parent, it’s only natural to always want the best for your child. However, there are times when they might run into some trouble regardless of how hard you try to keep them away from it. Plus, if it’s your first time parenting, you’ll know that things can sometimes get challenging, especially if your child happens to fall ill. You can surely play your part to keep things from getting to this stage.
If you’re interested in learning more, keep reading below.
1. Stay in touch with your doctor
If you want to prevent common illnesses for your child, the best course of action is to stay in regular contact with your doctor. Your doctor can assess your child’s health comprehensively and help you figure out how to care for them best. While you can start tapering off the doctor’s visits as your child grows older, these visits are essential when your baby is still young.
The reason is that when they’re younger, your child may be unable to describe their symptoms and tell you something is wrong. However, a more sinister reason you should always stay in touch with your doctor is that when your child is younger, there may be something amiss that you may not catch on to timely.
Sometimes, your child may have suffered from medical negligence during birth, which may have led to birth injuries. Birth injuries can cause lifelong impairments, and it takes a professional to assess the negligence fully and timely. By getting in touch with the right resources, you can assess if anything is amiss right on time.
2. Disinfect everything
Whether you have a crawler, a toddler, or a tween, you’ll want to ensure that you disinfect everything. Preach about cleanliness all you want, but your child’s main mode of exploration throughout these years will be their hands and mouth. Your child will want to get their hands on everything, and more often than not, they’ll try putting these things in their mouth too.
If you’re lax when it comes to cleaning, you might end up exposing your child to a ton of bacteria. Bacteria can survive for days and even weeks on several surfaces, and if you don’t disinfect regularly, your child might end up falling sick often. When disinfecting, a simple wipe-down isn’t enough. You must thoroughly scrub your surfaces with alcohol or any other commercial disinfectant to ensure that you can give your child a safe, clean environment to explore.
3. Encourage good habits
One of the biggest reasons parents have difficulty keeping their kids from getting sick is that they fail to maintain good habits in their children. It’s not enough to disinfect objects if your child keeps searching for dirty things to play with around the house. Encouraging good, clean habits in your kid is a long process, but it can help you protect your child in the long run.
When you see your child taking an interest in washing their hands, taking a shower, or cleaning up independently, always reward their behavior. This positive reinforcement can show the child that they’re doing something desirable and can help in habit formation. You can offer an external reward, such as food, toys or playtime, or even simple praise to show them that they’re being good. Moreover, it’s also important to discourage unclean behaviors and explain to your child the importance of keeping clean.
4. Recognize the symptoms
Recognizing the symptoms is vital to ensure your child gets the best care and gets it early on. Moreover, it’s also important to prevent the spread to other children or family members and keep your family healthy. Many children may be unable to explain how they feel, so parents must monitor their condition regularly and independently. While serious issues require urgent doctor’s visits, there’s a lot you can handle at home too.
If you spot symptoms such as fever, a runny nose, sore throat, coughing, diarrhea, fatigue, or sudden rashes, it’s better to isolate your child from the rest of the family. Usually, these symptoms indicate common illnesses such as an upset stomach, fever, cold, or flu, and you can handle it by giving your child medication and care. However, a doctor’s visit might be in order if the symptoms worsen or stay unaffected. Recognizing the symptoms and when you need to act fast is thus vital in protecting your child.
5. Develop a good sleeping schedule
In today’s technological age, getting a good night’s sleep can be hard for parents and children alike. If you’re up at night watching TV or scrolling through your phone, chances are your child will be with you, too. And eventually, the kid will develop the same habits. The blue light emitted by screens can impact melatonin production, making it hard for you to develop a proper sleeping schedule.
Moreover, if these screens can have such a strong effect on you, the effect on your children can be even more profound. If your child regularly stays up late at night, has no fixed schedule, and uses a lot of devices, it can be hard for them to sleep well. In turn, they can be cranky and exhausted in the mornings and have a lowered immune system. Putting your children to bed early is vital to ensure they can stay healthy. Reading to them before bed and making bedtime a fun ritual where they can wind down slowly is the best way to form this habit. Instead of sending them off alone, join them and make it a relaxing activity for the two of you to spend time together.
Conclusion
Every parent aspires to give their child the healthiest, happiest childhood, free from problems and illnesses. It can sometimes seem hard to keep your child from getting sick, but if you follow these helpful tips, you can keep your child safe. Much of this revolves around forming healthy habits, not just for your children, but for yourself.
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