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Tuesday, April 21, 2015
MYSTERIOUS FLU (INFLUENZA)
9:08:00 PM
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Mysterious FLU (Influenza) this season creating Havoc in Health
What is the Flu?
The flu (influenza) is a respiratory illness caused by a Influenza
virus. Flu infections are highly contagious. They spread easily when children
are in a group with other children such as in a child care center or family,
home, school. Flu viruses spread easily through the air with coughing and
sneezing. They also spread by touching things like doorknobs or toys, common
wash-room towels and then touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Flu is more dangerous than the common cold for children and can
lead to serious health conditions like pneumonia or bacterial infections. Each
year many children are hospitalized and some die from the flu. Children and adolescents with a chronic health
condition such as: asthma, diabetes and disorders of the brain or nervous
system are at high risk for flu complications.
Seasonal incidence: While you can catch the flu any time of the
year, the virus is most common between
October and May and usually peaks around January or February.
SYMPTOMS OF FLU
Flu is a short–form for
influenza. It is an infection of the breathing system (nose, throat and lungs),
but it can affect the whole body.
All flu viruses cause illness that
can last a week or more.
Symptoms include:
Symptoms include:
·
A sudden onset fever (usually above 101°F or 38.3°C)
·
Chills and body shakes
· Headache,body aches, & being a lot more tired than usual
·
Sore throat
·
Dry, hacking cough
·
Stuffy, runny nose
·
Diarrhea, Vomiting
PREVENTING FLU
Parents and child care providers can help
prevent and slow the spread of the FLU.
Fighting
Germs
A few minutes killing germs can go a long way toward keeping you
and those around you healthy. As adults, we know to wash our hands often with
soap and water, especially after coughing, sneezing, or wiping noses. When you
cough or sneeze, cough into your sleeve or arm or into a tissue,be sure to
dispose of the tissue and wash your hands.
Hand Washing: A Powerful Antidote to Illness
Making It Habit
As early as possible, get your child into the
habit of washing her/his hands often and
thoroughly. All day long, your child is exposed to bacteria and viruses—when
touching a playmate, sharing toys, or petting the cats/dogs. Once her hands pick up
these germs,
she can quickly infect herself by:
- Rubbing her eyes
- Touching her nose
- Placing her fingers in her mouth.
The whole process can
happen in seconds, and cause an infection that can last for days, weeks, or
even longer.
When To Wash
Hand washing can stop
the spread of infection. The key is to encourage your child to wash her hands
throughout the day. For example: Help her or remind her to wash her
hands:
·
Before eating
(including snacks)
·
After a trip to the bathroom
·
Whenever she comes in
from playing outdoors
·
After touching an
animal like a family pet
·
After sneezing or coughing if she covers her
mouth
·
When someone in the
household is ill
Germ Prevention Strategies
Hygiene
Strategies
When your child or another
family member has a cold or cough, there are extremely important
steps in addition to frequent hand washing that can lower the risk of
spreading the infection to others.
For example: - To keep your sick child from blowing secretions into the air, where they can land on other people or on toys and other objects
- Encourage her to cough or sneeze into a tissue or, if a
tissue isn’t available, onto her sleeve.
- Discourage your child from covering her mouth with her
hands while coughing or sneezing because this will leave germs on the
hands that can be spread by touching other people or objects. Most often,
germs are spread by the hands, not through the air.
- Throw away tissues immediately after each use, putting them
in a nearby wastebasket/dustbin or other container.
- Once your child is old enough, teach her how to blow her
nose into a tissue.
- Don’t allow your child to share pacifiers, drinking cups, eating utensils,toys, towels, or toothbrushes when she is sick
The Flu Vaccine
Vaccine is the best way for
your whole family to prepare for this coming flu season. Flu viruses are
unpredictable. They are always changing over time and from year to year. So
parents should get their children and themselves vaccinated as soon as
possible.
Who Needs the Flu Vaccine?
The American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all people (6 months of age and older) get
the flu vaccine every year.
This includes
children, their brothers and sisters, parents, and caregivers. Babies cannot get vaccinated until they are 6 months old. It
is critical that people who live with or care for children, especially infants
younger than 6 months, get vaccinated. Vaccinating adults who are around an
infant to prevent illnesses is often referred to as “Cocooning.”
Vaccination is especially important for:
- Children with conditions that increase their risk of complications from the flu
- Adults
who provide care for children : with high-risk
conditions & children younger than 5 years (especially
infants younger than 6 months)
- Doctors, nurses, other health care workers and all child care
providers and staff
- All
women who are pregnant, are considering pregnancy, are in the postpartum
period, or are breastfeeding during the flu season
- All
children living in a group or children with chronic illness
This Season’s Flu Vaccine
The flu vaccine
includes 3 strains (trivalent). These are the strains that are anticipated
to circulate around this flu season.
The trivalent vaccine protects
against the same 3 strains as last season. These are:
·
Influenza A (H1N1)
·
Influenza A (H3N2)
·
Influenza B
Types of Flu Vaccine
There are 2 types of flu vaccine.
·
Inactivated Influenza vaccine (IIV) is given as a shot. There are 2 kinds of
shots. The intramuscular (into the muscle) shot is licensed and recommended for
everyone 6 months of age and older, including people with and without chronic
medical conditions.
The intradermal (into the
skin) shot is licensed for use only in people 18 through 64 years of age.
·
Live-attenuated Influenza vaccine (LAIV) is sprayed into the nose. LAIV is licensed for
use in health people 2 years through 49 years of age. Some studies show that
LAIV may work better than IIV to prevent the flu in young children. When
available, LAIV should be considered for healthy children 2 through 8 years of age.
Both types of flu
vaccine are safe and work well to protect your child from the flu. Your doctor
can help you decide which vaccine is best for your child and family.
By all these above mentioned
strategies we can prevent flu to the great extend.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Thursday, August 7, 2014
HELPING THE MOTHER TO BREASTFEED
9:14:00 PM
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It’s always a first chance for
any new mother who is full of anxiety for the new one coming to their family.
Baby being the most precious and sensitive gift for a mother and to the family
it demands a great care from the mother herself, the father and the supporting
family. It’s all about the united effort of all the members within the family
which decides upon the healthy outcome of any child’s future in terms of
health, education, and emotional/ social development.
The first and foremost care
starts right from the day when a mother conceives her baby within her womb,
then giving birth to her child and reviving a life with hers, then feeding her
child with her milk which is the first and the most important nutritional diet
for any baby.
So being blessed with such a
blissful act she always carries a tension to fulfill her responsibility with
the best of her capability, knowledge and ability.
So here are some of the important
questions that most of the mother’s have in their mind when they are blessed
with this responsibility.
1. When is the right time to start
breast feeding?
All the mother should be well prepared to
breast feed their baby, right from her antenatal visit. Breast feeding should
be started within half an hour of normal delivery and 3-4 hours of caesarean
section or as soon as mother is comfortable. Prelacteal feed with honey water, grape water, sugar water or any
other liquid should be strictly avoided.
2. How can one initiate breast feeding and what is the proper way
of breast feeding?
All the mother should be well prepared,
encouraged and educated to breast feed their child after birth, right from her
antenatal visit. Any problem related to her breast and nipple should be sorted
out and she should be emotionally supported. She should be happy and taking
proper nutritious diet, with extra calorie to meet the demands of her new born
baby. Mothers first milk
( Colostrum-
rich in protein and immunoglobulin’s),thick yellowish milk is very important
for the baby so it should not be thrown and should be feed to baby.
Rooming in- keeping baby and mother
together, Bedding in- keeping baby
and mother in the same bed close to each other, Mothering in- keeping baby on the mother’s abdomen, Kangaroo mother
care for the pre term baby- keeping baby on the mothers abdomen or close to her
chest, are some of the important factors that play a important role in mother
and a baby bonding and helps in proper lactation as well.While breast feeding both the
mother and the baby should be relaxed, in comfortable position and in an
appropriate room temperature.
Preferably mother should breast feed the child
in the sitting posture with her back supported and baby held in a semi-sitting
position with the face held close to the mother’s breast by one arm and
hand while the other hand supports the
breast making the nipple easily
accessible to the infant’s mouth without obstructing the nasal breathing. The
infant’s lips should engage considerable areola as well as nipple. This would
be the best way to feed your baby and you share the bond as baby sucks.
3. How often and how long one should breast feed their baby?
There is no hard and strict rule for
timings regarding breast feeding. It can be a demand feeding (as when ever your
baby feels hungry). Roughly it could be every 2-3 hourly. No extra water, other
liquid or food is required till 6 months of age.
The infant should empty at least
one breast at each feeding and it may take 15 – 20 minutes approximately per
feeding. Most of the baby’s tend to sleep while feeding so it’s necessary to
wake them by rubbing their back, ear lobule, behind the ear, or by tickling/patting
them on their sole to feed them properly.
4. How do we know that the breast milk is sufficient for the baby?
Mother’s milk is sufficient for
the baby till 6 months of life provided mother is healthy and producing
good amount of milk. The most important thing to be noticed for adequate
feeding is:
The weight gain by 20-30 gms per
day
Baby will pass urine frequently,
almost 6-10 times a day
Baby may pass 1- 6 liquid stools
per day
Baby will sleep 2-3 hrs post
feed.
5. Quite often we think that breast milk is not sufficient for the
baby because they keep crying most of the time in spite of being feed properly,
Why?
Remember it’s not only the hunger
which can make your baby cry, if your baby cries even after you breast feed
properly then it means there may be some other factor troubling your baby, so
please check out - if baby diaper is wet because of stool or urine, if baby
cloth is too tight or cold, if some other child is troubling your baby
unintentionally, or some other factors in her/his lying vicinity. Is it to
sleep? or if it’s due to other illness (i.e.
nasal blockage, vomiting, cold, fever etc).Check the environment temperature if
it’s too hot /cold. Your baby may need your warmth and attention at times too.
6. What is burping and why is it important after breast feeding?
Baby tends to take in lots of air during
feeding/sucking, which leads to abdominal distension, colic’s, regurgitation.
So to avoid all this, mother has to burp her child by putting the child on the
left shoulder, head supported with mother’s left hand and then with the right
arm support the buttocks and gently pat on the baby’s back with the right hand.
Slowly air will escape from the baby’s mouth and baby will feel comfortable. It
has to be done after every feeding and it may take 10-15 minutes for a baby to
burp.
7. What other food or liquid should be give to the baby in
addition to the breast milk?
Well no other form of food or liquid is required for the baby till 6
months of age. It’s only mother milk and mother’s milk. Mother’s milk is the
best feed for the baby as it provides the best of the nutrition required for
the baby growth and development. While sucking breast milk baby gets fore milk
initially which satisfy the thirst of the baby and further sucking provides the
hind milk that satisfy the hunger and the nutritional demand of the baby. So no
other supplemental feed should be given other then breast milk in normal
situation.
8. Till what age baby should receive breast feeding?
Start breast feeding right from the birth. Add on with supplemental feeds
in form of weaning from 6 months of age and continue it with family pot feed
till 2 years of age.
As well said breast milk is for
brain growth and cow’s milk is for body growth so continue breast feeding till
2 years of age.
9. If you are a working mother how can you continue breast feeding
your baby?
Well in that case feed your baby when you are at home and for the time when
you are in office you can express the breast milk and keep it store in a steel container
in a refrigerator in the middle compartment till 24 hrs. And it can be used as palada feed, or a spoon feed with proper
sterilization. Don’t heat the milk directly on the heater rather warm it up by
keeping the container in the hot water vessel.
10. Can we bottle feed our baby?
No. It’s not accepted, as there is an
increased chance of gastrointestinal infection in form of diarrhea. Baby may
develop nipple confusion once you put him on breast feed again as sucking milk
from the bottle is comparatively easy then sucking from breast directly. And as
when mother put their baby for breast feeding it acts as a stimulant to the
mother and helps her for better milk production and gives an emotional,
physical and mental support both to the mother and a baby. And human milk is
uniquely adapted to the infant’s need. But
in case of working mother you can use it provided you maintain a proper hygiene
and sterilization of the bottle.
11. Do we need to give some vitamin supplement in addition to the
breast milk?
Absolutely no for all the
term healthy babies in normal cases as breast milk is rich in all the required
nutrition, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, immunoglobulin’s, antibodies which is
required for the baby growth and development. Breast milk is the best gift that any mother
can give to her baby for their better and healthy life as it provides unique nutritional, immunological and psychological benefits.But yes additional vitamin supplements may be
required for the preterm babies, and babies less than 2 kg at birth, or any
high risk babies.
12.
What are the contraindications of breast feeding?
For mother : HIV infection, Active
Hepatitis B infection, Active Tuberculosis, Typhoid fever, Breast cancer,
Malaria ,Septicemia, CMV, Rubella infection, Herpes simplex virus infection.
For
baby: Galactosemia
But it’s always better to consult your regular
doctor before you plan to stop/hold breast feeding your baby.
13.
What food should mother avoid till she is breastfeeding her baby?
Mother should strictly avoid fish that are high in
mercury (canned fish, Tuna), alcohol, Caffeine present in coffee (not more then
2-3 cups per day), chemical bisphenol
A- present in canned foods. She should also avoid eating too much of spicy/oily
and unhealthy/ junk foods which puts her at risk of getting ill and
subsequently decreasing her milk production
because of her illness. She should be encouraged to eat healthy and
nutritious food with increase fluid intake.
14.What are the benefits of Breastfeeding?
Benefits for the babies are: Breastfeeding is a complete
nutrition that is easy for the baby to digest. Breast milk has just the right
amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that is needed for a baby's growth and
development and also helps in improved cognitive development. Breast milk
contains several anti-infective factors,
immunoprotective components i.e. secretory IgA
antibodies which provide early protection from infection and thus lower
the risk of infant morbidity and mortality. It also helps in the jaw development/ strengthening of the baby; because
breastfeeding is more difficult. It also decreases the risk of SIDS in infants
and allergies, diabetes, celiac
disease, obesity in later adulthood.
While the benefits
in mother from
breastfeeding are: helps in uterine shrinkage, decreases risk of breast cancer, depression, and osteoporosis.
It is also a bonding experience for both mother and baby and can be
less expensive than formula.
15. What are the various positions of breastfeeding and perfecting the partnership with the baby?
The tips of “4P ” for perfecting the partnership
between the mother and the baby is required for the successful breast feeding : i.e. Positioning, Practice,
Patience, Persistence
The various position while
breast feeding are:
Cradle position
Cross Cradle position
Straddle position
Football holding position (especially for the
Cesarean mother’s)
Lying down position
Side Lying position
For watching the video for the above position look at
the web site below:
http://www.parents.com
http://www.parenting.com
http://www.babycenter.comFriday, March 28, 2014
An Article Published in Healthy Life Magazine in Issue March 2014
9:34:00 AM
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MOTHER KNOWS BEST
NURTURE WITH CARE
A mother certainly has greater responsibility in raising a child;therefore,it is important that she has knowledge of some essential do`s and don'ts.
Parenting is an art to be learned through
experience based on our own upbringing, opportunities to look after siblings
and rekindling and reshaping innate parenting instincts during adolescence and
early adulthood through sharing and counseling.Both the parents (mother and father) play an important
role for the better growth and development of a child but yet mother play a
supreme role right from the day she conceives till she gives birth.After delivery,the mother and baby remain together 24 hours a day.Therefore , she is in the best position to provide warmth,nutrition, and good nursing care for the baby.Here are some things to keep in mind:
- For better nourishment and growth of your baby start breastfeeding after birth and continue exclusive breast feeding till 5-6 months of age.
- Keep in the mind that your baby should pass urine and stool every day.
- Consult your doctor immediately if your baby develops jaundice.
- The baby may be massaged with oil and bathed after 15-30 minutes of doing so.
- Poor hygiene is responsible for most diseases,so keep yours and your baby`s body and clothes clean.
- Putting oil in the nose and ears.and kajal/surma in the eyes is harmful.
Keep yourself update with some danger signs
of some common childhood illness (i.e. acute respiratory
illness and diarrhea) especially below 5 years of age.Early recognition and management is very important.Here are some of the danger signs:
Danger signs of diarrhea
- Inability to drink/feed/suck
- Decrease in urine output
- Absent tears, dry tongue and mouth.
- Increase irritability, lethargy
- Sunken eyes
- Depressed anterior fontanelle
- Weight loss of more then 10% of body weight
Danger signs in acute respiratory infection
- Fast breathing, restlessness
- Chest in drawing, (kokha hanne)
- Inability to drink/feed
- Bluish discoloration of lips and skin
- Noisy breathing
- Inability to rest properly
Here are some more important things to keep in mind for new mothers:
- Visit a baby clinic for growth monitoring and Vaccination.Milestones are the phases in the growth and development in all domains (social, motor, language-social) that any child grows through from a small dependent kid to an independent individual. A lot will happen in your baby’s during first 12 months of life before you know it that your tiny, "helpless" newborn baby will be a person in his own right, able to move around and communicate.Hence monitoring your child for the age appropriate growth and development is very important.
- Vaccination is the process of Immunizing which protects children’s (and adults) against harmful infections before they come into contact with the infection in the community. But some parents are anxious about the side effects of vaccination so to let you know that still the benefit of protection against the disease by a vaccination far outweighs the very small risks of vaccination. This is to inform all the parents that there are certain other important vaccines that are available apart from those that are supplied by the government of Nepal. These newer vaccines are very useful to prevent your child from harmful diseases like: Mumps, Rubella, Influenza, Pneumonia, Chickenpox, Meningitis, Hepatitis A and B, Yellow fever, Rabies, Diarrhoea, Japanese Encephalitis, Typhoid.You should also remember that booster doses important in immunization.
- Start weaning around 5- 6 months of age and introduce one item at a time like, slowly keep on adding newer food every week as per the child tolerance, slowly increase calorie and dense feed till you start feeding him from the family pot at the age of 1.6 - 2 years. Continue breastfeeding preferably till 2 years of life.
- Ensure a balanced diet that includes all the various food items, vitamins and nutrients.
- In case of any abnormality seen in growth, development or behavior or if there is any family history of major illness or disease then consult your pediatrician doctor in time.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
HAZARDS OF CANNED & FROZEN FOOD IN CHILDREN
9:51:00 AM
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Q1 .Can children be fed with frozen and canned foods? At what age is it okay for them to eat such items?
Answer:
Yes children can be given frozen or canned foods at times but not on a regular basis, provided you take a special precaution while handling those food like rinse all cans before opening them to avoid the food contamination because it has dust on outside when you purchase it from the supermarket and using of clean and sterile cutter or knife to open the lid of the container. It is important to check the expiry dates before you use them and make sure that the canned foods are used immediately after opening and avoid reusing the leftovers. Since it’s convenient, portable, and ready to eat it becomes a food of choice especially for working mother and while travelling.
Yes children can be given frozen or canned foods at times but not on a regular basis, provided you take a special precaution while handling those food like rinse all cans before opening them to avoid the food contamination because it has dust on outside when you purchase it from the supermarket and using of clean and sterile cutter or knife to open the lid of the container. It is important to check the expiry dates before you use them and make sure that the canned foods are used immediately after opening and avoid reusing the leftovers. Since it’s convenient, portable, and ready to eat it becomes a food of choice especially for working mother and while travelling.
It can be given after the age of 7-8 years provided the nutritional labeling meets the child nutritional demand. While eating a frozen meal serve it with a salad or a side of fruits or vegetables so as to overcome the nutritional and vitamin deficiency associated with frozen meals.
Q2 .How healthy is it for children to consume frozen or canned food?
Answer:
With above mentioned precautions we can still feed our child with these kinds of foods. There are studies which say that even a frozen food is as nutritious as the fresh ones but then it depends upon the way in which these foods are processed and preserved along with some additional nutritional benefits. Sad to say, almost any meal that’s easy and convenient is probably highly processed. Even though the processed, packaged foods have almost completely taken over the diet of most of the children and teenagers of today’s world but still these foods are not as nutritious as fresh meal we prepare. They lack many essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals which are lost during the process. So it’s always a choice to encourage them to eat a healthier and freshly prepared food rather than a canned or frozen food.
With above mentioned precautions we can still feed our child with these kinds of foods. There are studies which say that even a frozen food is as nutritious as the fresh ones but then it depends upon the way in which these foods are processed and preserved along with some additional nutritional benefits. Sad to say, almost any meal that’s easy and convenient is probably highly processed. Even though the processed, packaged foods have almost completely taken over the diet of most of the children and teenagers of today’s world but still these foods are not as nutritious as fresh meal we prepare. They lack many essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals which are lost during the process. So it’s always a choice to encourage them to eat a healthier and freshly prepared food rather than a canned or frozen food.
Q3. If a majority of their diet consists of canned and frozen foods, what are the possible health risks?
Answer:
These type of food items are called Processed foods i.e (soft drinks, cheese crackers, cookies, chips, cakes, candies, instant meals, etc.) which are canned, frozen, dehydrated or hydrogenated for safety, a longer shelf life and convenience.
These type of food items are called Processed foods i.e (soft drinks, cheese crackers, cookies, chips, cakes, candies, instant meals, etc.) which are canned, frozen, dehydrated or hydrogenated for safety, a longer shelf life and convenience.
Some of the important hazards of these processed food are as below:
a. * Processed food have less nutritive value
Even though the Processed foods are neatly packaged in a box, bag, can or jar with a list of ingredients on the label, these food are very much detriment to your health and not just because the food is basically nutrition less but due to the high temperatures and pressures required during processing which all affect the amount of nutrients the food delivers to you by up to 20-fold.
Commercial food is usually blanched before it is frozen. In this process, plant foods are cooked with hot water or steam for a short period of time. This decreases the water-soluble nutrients by 10-50%.
Vitamin stability is affected by heat light, air, and pH. Foods that are going to be canned are cooked at high temperatures and usually for a longer period of time. Fewer nutrients are lost when cooking at high heat for a short period of time. Vitamin B2 is more sensitive to light and Vitamins A, E and beta-carotene are susceptible to destruction by air.
Canned fruits and veggies typically have added sugar or salt, and sometimes preservatives and colors, too. Draining or rinsing off this salty water also lose the water-soluble vitamins and minerals (vitamin C, B vitamins, potassium), which have leeched into the salty water. In general, vitamins E, C, B1, folate, and retinol are the most delicate and likely to be lost through cooking, processing or simply the passage of time.
The amount of time canned foods spend on the shelf also affects their nutritional value. For example, the vitamin C content can decrease another 20% over the course of a year.
Salmon, which is typically cooked before being put in the can and then cooked again during canning, loses some of its carotenoids during pre-canning cooking, and another 15-35% during the actual canning. Fish that are not canned with their bones, like tuna, lose about half their calcium due to canning.
b. * Processed foods contains dangerous additives and chemicals
However, packaged food (i.e soft drinks, meat, fast food, snacks, biscuits cakes, candies, creams) contains preservatives and additives (i.e artificial flavoring sugar, food colors, sodium nitrate, monosodium glutamate, trans-fat) designed to increase the longevity of the food items, maintain their taste and protect them from harmful germs while sealed inside the container but they have a side effect of decreasing the nutritional value of food products along with some common problems like: Allergies-rashes, hypersensitivity reaction, atopic dermatitis, infantile colic, Diarrhea, Constipation, Indigestion, Obesity, Diabetes, heart disease.
c. * Canned food are responsible for certain metal poisoning:
Almost all brands of canned food, contain the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A, better known as BPA in the can lining. BPA is a byproduct of the chemicals used to prevent can corrosion is known to cause causes massive hormone disruption with the serious problem of early puberty, ADHD, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, etc in human being.
Several other metallic containers used to can food at home or market may cause this metal toxicity like: copper, zinc, tin.
d. These food are also responsible for certain food borne illness:
Botulism - seen with commercial food sealed in plastic pouches, home /canned foods, fruits, and vegetables, bottled honey, canned and fermented fish.
Q4. How can parents encourage children to eat healthy since they are fussy eaters?
Answer:
A healthy diet can confer wonderful benefits to your children. They will be happier, healthier, even more beautiful, and filled with energy and good spirits. With simple games and educational activities, you can have fun sharing with your children the delights of foods that taste good and are good for them.
The best way to help your child discover the Joys of Eating Healthy Foods is by educating and inspiring them so that you can transform these foods from the ones your children have to eat to the ones they want to eat.
Here are some of the tips to help you inspire your children to eat healthy foods.
Here are some of the tips to help you inspire your children to eat healthy foods.
Educate your children about the world's healthiest foods!
Teach your children why certain foods are good for them. We can probably all remember our parents telling us that eating healthy would help us to grow up big and strong, yet many did not tell us of the benefits we would experience while still being a child. Since kids are very "now-focused," explaining how eating healthy foods will help them feel good, look great, give them the kind of long-lasting energy that will make them stars in their school's sports program, and help them to learn and think clearly. Depending upon their age, explain to them the specific benefits they will notice and appreciate, Tell them how a complete spectrum of vitamins and minerals will increase their concentration and ability to learn and do well in their school work.
Introduce a New Fruit, Vegetable or Grain Every Week
Most young children are fascinated by new things, and the colors, shapes, textures and tastes of different foods are no exception. And since foods have a rich history of tradition and heritage that kids can enjoy, learning about and eating new foods can be a lot of fun -- and it's easy to do.
Make Grocery-Shopping Fun for Your Little Ones
Take your kids with you to the market and make it an educational and participative experience for them. If you purchase food items from bulk bins, let your children help you scoop them into the bags. If they are old enough to read, ask them to read the labels, trying to determine by looking at the ingredients which foods are the most healthy.
Visit a Local Farm, and Involve Your Children With Growing Foods Themselves
Nature, living things and the process of how things work captivate children. Children love to be productive and creative, and accomplish something on their own. You can help them create their own mini-"farm", kitchen garden by simply growing a pot or two of herbs or sprouting some seeds or grains. Once your child has experienced the miracle of a tender green shoot emerging from the soil you have watered together, he or she will understand through personal experience that food is a miraculous gift from the earth--not from a factory.
Let Your Children "Help" You Cook
All children can participate in cooking. Design their involvement depending upon their age. Small children can help measure and mix ingredients. Older children can cut and cook food and choose new recipes to try. Involving your children in the cooking process will award them with a sense of achievement, pride in eating what they helped to prepare, and cooking skills that they can rely on as adults.
Buy or Make Special Decorative Tiffin box for School Meals and Snacks
Packing the foods your children take to school in bright and decorative containers can help them feel special and loved. Let them select containers they like at the store or decorate any of the new, inexpensive reusable containers with favorite stickers. A healthy meal is a present for your child's body; a gift wrapping adds to the fun.
Thus, by helping your children to develop healthy eating habits, you will be providing them with a great gift - one that will benefit their health throughout their lives.
Thus, by helping your children to develop healthy eating habits, you will be providing them with a great gift - one that will benefit their health throughout their lives.
5. Anything else that you would want to inform our readers?
Answer:
The World's Healthiest Foods provide numerous benefits for everyone, especially in children. Since our children's bodies are in a state of growth and development, they need a constant supply of all nutritional building blocks - protein, essential fats, complex carbohydrates, and a full complement of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients -- to support healthy growth. Because of their smaller size and still developing immune and detoxification systems, reducing the exposure of our very young children to potentially harmful chemicals may play a significant role in promoting a healthy future for them.
Answer:
The World's Healthiest Foods provide numerous benefits for everyone, especially in children. Since our children's bodies are in a state of growth and development, they need a constant supply of all nutritional building blocks - protein, essential fats, complex carbohydrates, and a full complement of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients -- to support healthy growth. Because of their smaller size and still developing immune and detoxification systems, reducing the exposure of our very young children to potentially harmful chemicals may play a significant role in promoting a healthy future for them.
But still in case, you prefer a canned or frozen food please follow the tips as given below:
- Avoid buying canned goods that are bulging, dented or leaking. Throw away any cans in your pantry showing these signs.
- Store canned goods in a cool, dry place, not above the oven or under the sink.
- Rinse all cans before opening them.
- Use canned goods by the date on the can
- At the grocery store, select frozen foods from the back of the freezer case; items in the back usually remain the coldest and most frozen.
- At home, keep frozen foods tightly wrapped and store them in the freezer at zero degrees Fahrenheit or below.
- Don't buy hanging dried or cured meat if the package is open.
- Reheat pre-cooked foods such as stuffed chicken breasts and pre-roasted chickenbefore serving. Eat them on the day of purchase.
- When eating a frozen meal, serve it with a salad or a side of fruits or vegetables to meet your daily nutritional requirements
- Processed foods are often stripped of nutrients designed by nature to protect your heart, such as soluble fiber, antioxidants, and “good” fats. Combine that with additives, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Thus prefer the World's Healthiest Foods above the canned or frozen food. These include fresh vegetables and fruits (organically grown whenever possible), which contain an array of vitamins, minerals and other health-promoting phytonutrients; as well as whole grains and legumes, which provide healthy fibers, proteins, minerals, and fats. These healthy foods will help your children feel better, think better and live better.
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