Your child’s pediatrician should not only be seeing your child when he or she is sick or when you have a concern. A routine child care visit, also known as a well-child visit, is an exam that checks the basic health and development of a child.
These checkups occur very often during infancy and continue until they become an annual occurrence through the age of eighteen. Pediatricians can be a great help to keeping your child healthy and preventing sickness. Between visits, however, there is plenty that can be done to ensure that each child gets through the exam in great health. Below are some simple ways to keep a young child develop to their full potential.
Proper Diet
A healthy diet is sometimes underrated, but ask any pediatrician during a routine child care visit and they will tell you how important it is. The key to a good diet is a variety from a young age. This way, children will be more likely to eat a good variety of foods as they grow up when they start being more independent in their food choices.
Keep sugar as low as possible. It is a common misconception that by removing candy and soda, sugar can be eliminated. But there are some sneakier sugary foods that children may consume daily. Fruit juice is the main offender, containing as much sugar as some sodas and not much nutritional value. Children’s cereals have some benefits from the whole grains and fortified vitamins and minerals but should be limited. Fresh fruit and vegetables are the best.
Good Exercise
No, you do not have to take your child to the gym and run him or her on a treadmill. Simply ensure that they have plenty of opportunities to play and crawl, walk, and eventually run around. This is enough to ensure that a child will be able to show healthy motor skills and physical ability at their routine child care visit.
Recess and gym class are routine child care and school activities and are good opportunities for young children to exercise, but it sometimes is not enough. Find ways to keep children active at home. Letting them go to the park (or taking them, depending on their age) will help them get the right amount of exercise for the day.
Brain Stimulation
There are countless ways to ensure that a child’s memory is being stimulated, and this is essential for growth. The best way to do this is by frequent contact with the child! Talking to them and using normal vocabulary, including words above what they are probably prepared for, is a great way to help a child’s brain grow. Reading, and just having plenty of books around the child from the time they’re born, is proven to be great for a young mind.
Questions and Concerns
Going to the wrong pediatrician can lead to a bad experience where you feel like you are being pushed in and out of the office without getting your questions answered after a routine child care checkup. It is important to find a pediatrician who you can trust to listen to your questions and concerns. Not even the most experienced parent is perfect, so do not be afraid to be curious and ask questions about your child’s health.
