Children should be made used to of taking bath every day. Therefore, for this purpose, lukewarm water can be used in winters while fresh tap water should be used in summers. . The body should be dried completely after bathing and children should be clothed immediately. In summers, kids can be bathed twice or thrice as well.
Taking care of children is an utmost responsibility of parents. Therefore, from an early age, parents should be keen and dedicated when it comes to the health and nutrition of their kids.
Milk feeding: There is no doubt that the best and healthiest food for infants is mother’s milk. Children should be put to relax after feeding. A lot of activity or commotion can cause them to vomit. If the child feels unwell then a doctor should be consulted right away. Instead many women tend to delay and mistakenly seek help from elderly women in the house or neighbourhood. Never start a new medication on your own without a doctor’s prescription.
Clothing: Children’s daily apparel should be simple, cotton based and loose. It is absolutely unadvisable to make them wear clothes that have lots of embellishments or decorative patches on them as they make their soft skin itchy and uncomfortable. Children feel uneasy in wearing polyester based or tight dresses too. Clothes should be selected on the basis of weather conditions. Children tend to get effected by seasonal changes much easily than adults do so it is necessary to be careful while dressing them up.
Prompt reminders for using the toilet: It has been observed that mothers who toilet train their kids from the time of infancy tend to develop better bowel habits for them. In this way children do not spoil bed mattresses or other places in the house. Children habitual of regular bowels tell their mothers from an early age about the need to use toilet through particular signs. If a child wets himself, the clothes should be changed immediately.
Exercise is essential: exercise is mandatory for a well rounded and healthy growth of children. Infants should be made to lie for a considerable amount of time so that they work up their tiny arms and legs in circular motion. Parents should not worry if babies cry for no obvious reason as it allows the air to pass through lungs properly and helps in their better functioning.
Infants should sleep well: Babies need a good amount of sleep through their infancy. Therefore, they should be allowed to take a peaceful sleep of 20-22 hours a day. Later, the sleeping hours decrease with growing age and a sleep pattern develops. In South Asian countries like Pakistan and India, mothers normally make their babies sleep along with them. The damage in such a practice is that infants get habitual of comfort feeding which leads to irregular feeding patterns. Hence, kids should be made to sleep closer to mothers but on a different bed or cot. It is not suitable for babies to sleep straight on their chest or flat on their tummy. So, mothers or caretakers should make sure to flip kids side to side regularly.
Massage makes muscles strong: Daily body massage with a good quality olive oil makes growing kids’ bones and muscles strong.
Bathe kids daily: Children should be made used to of taking bath every day. Therefore, for this purpose, lukewarm water can be used in winters while fresh tap water should be used in summers. The body should be dried completely after bathing and children should be clothed immediately. In summers, kids can be bathed twice or thrice as well.
Pacifiers: It is unsafe for children to use pacifiers as it deprives them from developing self control and punctuality of time. If a child cries, he can be given fennel seed juice instead of milk to curb untimely hunger calls.
Nutrition for kids: At the age of 6-7 months, babies should be fed with some light and easily digested foods along with a regular milk intake. These meals include well cooked khicchri, grounded cereals, kheer of thin consistency and porridge. Soft ripened fruits, mutton broth and good quality biscuits can also be introduced while weaning. Foods that are heavy, oil based, frozen items, sugary or starchy meals, sweet meat, raw vegetables, nuggets and fried potatoes should be avoided at all costs and can only be fed once the child is over three years of age.
Feeding bottle: Mother’s milk is the best source of food and nutrition for babies. If for any reason, mother’s milk is not available then a feeding bottle can also be used for dispensing milk to the baby. There are a variety of feeding bottles available in the market these days. The best bottle amongst those is the one that can be cleaned easily and thoroughly. Bottles should be scrubbed with brush and washed well with warm water after every use. Bottle teats are to be cleaned thoroughly by turning them inside out otherwise the leftover milk can putrefy and contaminate fresh milk. Children, who are to be given canned milks, should be made to consume them with a clean stainless steel spoon. In this way the disadvantages related to unhygienic bottles feeding can be countered to some extent. Therefore, it is necessary to stay keen about the cleanliness of utensils that are involved in feeding a child.
Breaking the habit of breast-feeding: Normally, most children are taken off the habit of breast feeding at the age of 2 or 2.5 years. This means that they are switched to cow or buffalo milk and other semi solid foods instead of mother’s milk. In Pakistan, the summer season is not favourable to discontinue the habit of feeding mother’s milk. The winter season is more suitable for this task to be achieved successfully. It is recommended that children may be taken off this habit in a gradual manner so that the child remains healthy and the mother also does not feel any discomfort in her chest.
