Raising a strong child: Physically, Mentally, and Socially

Raising a strong child, physically, mentally, and socially, is a primary responsibility of parents or a parent. Children are the assets of your future. The role of a parent in a child’s life plays an important role. Every child is unique in nature from other children, so do not compare them with others.

The following are some tips to grow a strong child. A child’s personality depends upon the environment and support given to him/her in childhood. So, be careful to raise your child in a safe environment. It is the responsibility of the parent or caretaker to protect the child from physical, emotional, and mental harm.

How to raise a child physically strong?

Being physically strong does not mean that a child has more weight; yes, adequate weight according to his/her age is important. The weight should not be too much lower or higher than the expected or average scale. The following tips can help keep the child physically strong:

• Give your child a balanced diet: As children are in their growing stage, their diet should primarily consist of calcium, protein, and carbohydrates to provide them with the energy their body cells need to function properly.
• Exposing your child to the sun, as the body makes vitamin D from the sun.
• Engage your children in physical activities such as playing cricket, football, and other games, which promote stretches and mobility. Secondly, such exercises promote bone health, resulting in strong bones and muscles.
• Protect your child from diseases and illnesses by enhancing and boosting their immunity.
• Keep the gut of your child healthy by adding fruits and a high fiber diet, such as vegetables and fruits.
• Avoid constipation by maintaining a good level of hydration and eating food that contains fiber.
• Add vitamins to your child’s diet that are essential for the chemical reactions inside their body to perform cellular activities.
• Must monitor physical checkups, which may include their height and weight
• Avoid artificial food; such foods contain high sugar levels, which are not good for your child’s health, especially the gut and dental health.
• Avoid screen time by engaging your child in different physical activities; children who use screens most of the time are less active physically. Sitting all day in front of screens may affect their thinking capacity, reduce physical activity, and cause some digestive issues, such as constipation and delayed digestion of food. Secondly, using a sharp screen may affect their vision.
• A sedentary lifestyle may increase the risk of obesity in children, which may further increase the risk of other health issues in growing children.

What are the consequences of obesity in children?

In growing children, weight should be according to their age. Weighing more than the required amount is considered obesity. And weights less than the required come under weight. Moreover, both obesity and underweight have their consequences. The following are the side effects of obesity in children.

Limits physical activity: Raising a strong child: Physically, Mentally, and Socially

Children with obesity issues are less active in a game that requires running or jumping. So, children with a heavy weight are not able to perform such activities, which further results in a sedentary lifestyle.

Hormonal imbalances: Raising a strong child: Physically, Mentally, and Socially

Many hormones are altered and disturbed during obesity. These hormones alter their body functions and cause many physical and emotional changes.

Growth hormones: Raising a strong child: Physically, Mentally, and Socially

As children are in their growing stage of life, the growth hormone is necessary for their growth. When a child becomes obese, the body starts making too much growth hormone, which further leads to early puberty, affecting growth and development. Most of the children who are experiencing obesity in their childhood are short due to early puberty.

Insulin: Risk for diabetes:

 Insulin is another important hormone that regulates the sugar levels in the body. When there are higher amounts of fats in the body, these fats contribute to insulin resistance. When there is insulin resistance at the cellular level, the body produces more insulin, which leads to high levels of insulin in the blood called insulinemia. Moreover, insulin resistance leads to type II diabetes.

Looks older than their actual age:

Children who reach puberty earlier seem more mature than children of their own age. Secondly, girls who experience puberty at an early age are more susceptible to certain types of cancer, such as breast cancer or ovarian cancer. Secondly, young girls when menstruating are at high risk for anemia (low levels of hemoglobin). This further causes other health issues such as lethargy, tiredness, and weakness.

Risk for high blood pressure:

 Obesity leads to high blood sugar and high cholesterol levels. These contribute to high blood pressure due to resistance in the walls of blood vessels. So, obesity contributes to high blood pressure in young children.

Risk for cancers:

 Many cancers are associated with being overweight in children. Most studies found that children who are overweight are at high risk for developing cancers, such as lymphoma, breast cancer in females after 40. So managing weight at an early age prevents cancer.

How to manage obesity in children?

It is the primary responsibility of parents to keep their child’s weight under control. The factors contributing to obesity in children are

Diet. Raising a strong child: Physically, Mentally, and Socially

Weight depends upon diet; a balanced diet contributes to a healthy body, as an imbalanced diet leads to health issues such as obesity. Children who consume more sugary foods, more carbohydrates in their diet, and use processed food are at higher risk of developing weight-related problems.  Such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Physical exercises:

Physical exercise is essential for children’s growth and development. The following are some benefits of physical exercise for children. Moreover, a healthy body is responsible for a healthy mind.

• Helps in the growth and development of children
• Sharpens brain
• Improves blood circulation
• Manages blood sugars
• Maintains blood pressure
• Reduces mental stress
• Improves  stamina
• Improves sleep
• Improves appetite and digestion
• Enhances lung health through healthy inhalation of fresh air in open spaces.
• Enhances confidence level

What will be the consequences of very low weight?

A child with low weight experiences many challenges in life. Such as follows

• Lower energy levels, which may lead to lethargy and weakness
• Unable to perform physical activities due to low energy level
• Low immunity, which further increases the risk of illnesses and diseases
• Low concentration may lead to poor performance in studies or other learning platforms.
• Poor growth
• Lowers confidence level
• Affected body image

How to make your child mentally and socially strong?

Besides physical health, mental and social health play equally important role in a child’s life. The following steps and tips may help parents prepare their child to be mentally and socially strong.

• Enhance your child’s confidence level
• Encourage your child in physical activities, especially in group activities.
• Do not shout  in front of your child
• Discuss fruitful and healthy discussions in front of your child
• Avoid backbiting about others when you are with your child
• Focus on basic etiquette, for example, how to react with others, and how to greet others
• Praise your child for good deeds
• Discourage bad deeds in a respectful manner
• Do good things and talk in front of your child, as children copy their elders for minor actions
• Do not discourage your child in front of others.
• Do not give excessive pressure regarding studies or other activities
• Let your child bloom by his/her own abilities, try to give them a chance.
• Do not fulfill every demand of your child; this may spoil their habits of craving and insistence.

Hence, raising healthy and sensible children is a very difficult task, and it is an interesting journey as well, but with some strategies discussed above, you could help in preparing your children for challenges in the upcoming times. Limit your child’s access to social media or the internet, as this may spoil their good habits, and your child can copy bad habits and actions from social media before their maturity. Secondly, exposing children to social media and the internet can affect their thinking level.