Free Essay on Raising Healthy Children

How to raise a healthy child

Parenting is one of the greatest and most important responsibilities ever entrusted to human beings. How children are brought up plays a very important role in their later lives. Most parents in the 21st century fail to bring up their children in the right manner. Such children end up leading unhealthy and unproductive lives. This means that in order to raise healthy children, it is of paramount importance that the right approaches to parenting should be taken. Parents should adopt habits and activities that boost children’s mental, emotional and physical health (Epstein, 2014).

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Today’s world is heavily weighed down by competition. This explains why children are forced to specialize in some kind of sports such as athletics at a very tender age. Overspecialization is not a healthy habit for kids (Epstein,2014). When children overspecialize in some sport, it means that they will spend a lot of their childhood years being coached and traveling to improve their grasp on that particular kind of sports. Parents who give their children to specialize at a very young age are often motivated by scholarship opportunities that come as a result of specializing in some sport such as athletics. Overspecialization not only kills creativity in children but also proves to have far-reaching detrimental effects on children’s mental, emotional and physical health. Children’s physical health is the worst affected. Kids who are forced overindulge in some sport often lead unhealthy physical lives (Epstein,2014). Some get broken bones and suffer from damaged ligaments at the joints while others are entirely crippled. Parents should, therefore, have their children take some sport in moderation.

How to raise healthy children

Parents should also encourage diversification of activities and sports that children take part in. Diversification helps the kids to develop sufficient mental capabilities since they can learn to relate the different sports played. Children will, therefore, be quick to learn. Diversification also ensures that kids do not run the risk of developing boredom since they are not constrained to one type of physical activity. This encourages creativity and ensures the harmonious development of both physical, mental and emotional qualities. Such children lead healthier and productive lives.

Children should also be given the correct environment with a step by step approach on how they should conduct their activities. For example, children should have a relatively smaller playground under which to play sports such as football. This will help the kids to develop good judgment on how to deal with problems when they are limited and under pressure. Kids who conduct their sports in the large playground with adult sized courts and play tools often waste a lot of time and fail to develop proper physical and mental traits.

Dieting is also very crucial when it comes to the development of children (Nestle, 2012). The world today suffers from preventable lifestyle conditions such as obesity. Children should be encouraged to eat healthy by avoiding snacking and taking high-calorie foods outside their regular meals. Snacks present a challenge in that it encourages gaining weight in children which ultimately leads to obesity and other physical complications. Junk foods should also be avoided since they lack the proper nutrients that are necessary for proper physical development. Wholesome and clean meals should be given to kids.

In conclusion, it is very important that parents focus on bringing up healthy kids without being motivated by external factors such as scholarship opportunities available for sports. Parents should rather develop the talents of their children carefully. Good meals and balanced diets should be adopted for children

References

Nestle, M. (2012). Utopian dream: a new Farm Bill. Dissent, 59(2), 15-19.

Epstein, D. (2014). Sports should be child’s play. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes.com/2014/06/11/opinion/sports-shouldbe-childs-play. html