Surefire Ways to Keep Kids Healthy

If you love your kids you want them to operating at their optimum health levels so they can be as creative and productive as possible.

First of all you should check your child's weight once a month to ensure that he or she hasn't dropped any weight as a result of insufficient calorie intake. Active kids can require 500 to 1,000 more calories a day than their inactive peers because they burn more energy while engaged in sports. It is essential for you to make sure that they have enough to eat so they can thrive in life.

If you do discover that your child has lost weight, consider seeing a registered dietitian to help plan a diet that will meet his increased energy needs. You can find a dietitian at by talking to your family doctor or pediatrician. You can also find them listed online. Sometimes even your school will have a dietician you can talk to.

Ideally you should give an active kid three meals each day, as well as three or four healthy snacks. Kids have small tummies and cannot eat enough at a meal to sustain them for many hours, so snacks are vital to keeping their energy levels up. Feeding children like this also makes sure they never feel hungry and if you feed them several tinier meals a day they never get stomach aches either.

To keep kids healthy meals should be high in complex carbohydrates, such as whole grain breads, pasta, rice, cereal and potatoes. They should also contain protein (chicken, fish) and healthy fats (oil-based salad dressing, soft margarine, or any vegetable oil, such as olive, canola, sunflower or flax). The key is balance! I have found that a kid that eats too much is unable to do hi s or her homework.

It is also crucial that you serve a variety of foods to ensure your kid's entire vitamin and mineral needs are met. If your kid eats the same thing every day he or she may get sick because there is not enough variety in the diet.

When it comes to feeding the kids it also helps to plan ahead. Busy schedules that include early-morning or night-time practices interfere with meal times. Be sure to carry healthy snacks and think ahead to the next meal so that healthy options can be available.

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A Primer In Baby Rashes

Whether it's tiny pink pimples on a newborn's cheeks or big red welts on a feverish toddler, a child's first rash can alarm even the most calm and competent of parents. Bumps and blotches are not necessarily that alarming. Basically they are simply our skin's way of reacting to irritants, infections or hormonal changes. The reason babies get such awful looking rashes is that they have less developed immune systems than we do.
Are rashes life threatening? If a rash is accompanied by tightening of the throat, trouble breathing, or a fever (over 100.4 for an infant or over 101.3 for an older child), be sure to see a doctor right away. Otherwise the rash is probably just an irritation of some kind. The most irritating thing for the mother is always the crying that come with the constant itching and pain of rashes.
Here is what that rash might be –
Blisters: Could be contact dermatitis, diaper rash, impetigo, poison ivy
Dry patches: Could be cradle cap, eczema
Fever: Could be coxsackie, fifth disease, roseola, scarlet fever
Flaky skin: Might be cradle cap
Itchiness: Could be contact dermatitis, eczema, impetigo, poison ivy, scarlet fever
Lesions: Could be psoriasis
Red bumps or spots: Might be diaper rash, eczema, a case of poison ivy or scarlet fever
Red welts: Could be hives
Infants are more likely to develop Cradle Cap, petachaia (which is caused by pressure on the face) and contact dermatitis between the ages of zero and six months.
The prime time for diaper rash is between six and twelve months after a child has started eating a variety of new solid foods.
An estimated 90 percent of children with eczema will have had symptoms before the age of five. After age 3 an infection from strep bacteria can cause stronger severe throat pain.
From the age of six to twelve years most kids who get eczema usually see a dramatic improvement. Ear piercing is the main cause of nickel allergies and contact dermatitis.
Almost any child can develop irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) after prolonged exposure to a naturally irritating substance, like a scratchy clothing tag, drool, or a wet diaper; or from exposure to solvents and acids that can remove the protective oils and moisture in the skin, such as those found in powerful household cleansers.
The good news is that the risk of getting any of these rashes drops significantly after the age of fifteen.
Ask your doctor how to treat rashes. Ones that are infected might need an antibiotic cream. For diaper rash there are many over the counter remedies that work well.

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