5 Tips to have healthier children: advice for parents

Nobody tells you how to become a parent. Keeping your children healthy is a challenging job. The decisions you make for your their health will be accompanying them for all their life. If you would like to consult a pediatrician in Barcelona, you can always count on us. You can request an English speaking doctor anytime, just with a few clicks!

Parents have multiple questions about the health of their child. We decided to help you with some general parenting tips to help you taking care of your children. If you would need to consult a pediatrician in Barcelona you can always contact us. Your children’s health is important for us.

1. Movement

An important aspect of your child’s life is movement. Children take you as an example, so make sure you are a role model to them. You can give a good example by going for a walk or a bike ride, instead to sit in front of the TV, or you can try a sport together in order to motivate them to physical activity. You can play football, volleyball, you can go swimming in order to you can go swimming in order to make your child understand the fun of sporting.

2. Healthy Eating

Healthier food leads to a healthier life. There are many things you can do as a parent to help your children while they grow up. Research shows that children who have a healthy weight tend to be fitter, healthier, better able to learn, and more self-confident and they will have fewer health problems later in life.

What should my child eat?

Here you can find some guidelines to help your child being healthier:

– Children, like adults, need a good amount of fruits and vegetables every day.
-Discourage your child from having sugary or high-fat foods like sweets, cakes, biscuits, some sugary cereals, and sugar-sweetened soft and fizzy drinks.
–  Choose a healthy snack
–  Make sure your child has the proteins and the vitamins he needs. -Make sure he has enough meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables, whole grain products and eggs.

How can I help my child to eat healthier?

Learning how to eat healthier is important for the health of your child. Here you can find some tips to follow:

– Use less fat, salt or sugar
– While cooking use less solid fats. You can use olive oil instead of butter or margarine. Avoid frying, bake or roast instead.
– Your child should eat each meal the right amount fruits or vegetables. Make sure the snacks are healthy as well.
– Make sure your child consume a limited amount of sugar.

If you would like to consult a pediatrician in Barcelona, you can always count on us. You can request an English speaking doctor anytime, just with a few clicks! –> Click to book your appointment with English speaking doctor in Barcelona for children. 

3. Be a good model. Promote good health beyond your family

As a parent you play a fundamental role in your child’s life, your habits are your habits. One way to learn good habits to your child is for you to be a good role model. Children learn by our examples, you can encourage them to be active and eat well by doing it yourself in the first place. Any changes you make to your child’s diet and lifestyle are much more likely to be accepted if the changes will include the whole family.
If your child is in school, or with friends and family, you can promote his healthy eating and physical activity in several ways. Make sure he understands the importance of better eating for a better lifestyle. If you would like to be healthier as well, it is possible. You can find here some of our healthy tips for a better lifestyle.

4. Learning

The process of learning is important for every child.
Children are curious while growing up, they are going to learn so many things. It is important for each parent to support them during this learning process and to stimulate their intellect. Let them be creative by drawing, reading books or playing an instrument. If they have a hobby make sure they follow it, they can learn a new language, a new sport or another activity that will increase their curiosity.

5. Healthy sleep

A good rest is fundamental for your child’s physical and mental wellbeing.
Your child should have a good sleeping time routine that will help him feel better.

Here you can find some tips:

– A warm bath can help your child by relaxing and getting ready to go to bed.
– You can try to let him read a book quietly, or you can read it to him, this will help him to relax
– Avoid screens in the bedroom
– Tablets, smartphones, TVs and other electronic gadgets can affect how easily children get to sleep. Make sure your children stop to use those devices before bedtime.
– Make sure your child’s bedroom is dark, quiet and tidy. This will help him get better sleep.

How much sleep your child needs?

The hours of sleep your child needs can changes as they get older.
When your child is 5-year-old needs about 11 hours a night, while a 9-year-old needs approximately 10 hours.
You can ask our Pediatricians in Barcelona how much your child needs to sleep. If your child would have problems sleeping contact us!

Your children ’s health is important for us. For this reason, you can always count on us.  Book here an appointment with a pediatrician in Barcelona.