Children’s health and nutritional needs are much different from adults.  Infants can not swallow anything but liquid while one year olds are learning to like new foods. Here we have compiled the best of the health and nutrition basics needed by children.

Infants up to the age of four months should only have breast milk or baby formula. This is because infants do not have the ability to push solids to the back of their throat to swallow.  Mother’s breast milk is the best for infants.  Breast milk gives the baby all the nutrition it needs and eliminates many infantile illnesses including diarrhea, vomiting, and ear infections.

One year olds should be introduced to new foods constantly.  Present a new food during the beginning of the meal when the baby is really hungry.  It is important to make sure that all foods are properly cooked.  Cooked food should be mashed or pureed to a texture that enables the small child to eat safely. Always check to make sure that a food is not too hot before serving it to your child to eat.

Three and four year olds like to help cook.  It is important to allow your child to help you prepare easy meals such as cookies and cakes. In this way, you are teaching your child basic life skills while also teaching them that preparing food is rewarding. Never let a small child handle the stove, anything hot, or raw meat.

Meals should be eaten together as a family.  In this way, you are teaching your child that meals are important for nutrition and as a way to stay in touch with family members. Keep meals simple. Small children usually do not like their foods mixed up and prefer to have every dish separated.  Make trying new foods fun by giving out rewards (such as stickers) for every new food eaten. Never teach your child to eat everything on their plate.  Research shows that this leads to obesity later in life. Instead of cleaning their plate, allow your child to recognize when they are full and to stop eating at that point.

Serve nutritious and well balanced meals and snacks.  Avoid treats with large amounts of sugar.  Provide your child with juice and water rather than soda. Never put your child to sleep with a bottle, doing this promotes tooth decay and ear infections.  Avoid watching television during meals.  Use meal time to teach your child about proper nutrition.

Exercise is a basic for good health.  Teach your child to get plenty of exercising by planning daily activities.  Planned activities include bike riding, walking, swimming, and playing on play ground equipment. 

Protect your child from getting sick by teaching them good hygiene. Everyone should wash their hands for a total of 30 seconds in order to get rid of germs which cause the flu or other sickness.  Teach your child to cover their mouth when coughing and to throw away used tissues.

The first day of schooling for your child is one of excitement mixed with anxiety.  Your child is excited to be going to the “big” children’s school.  They like their new clothing and school supplies. They are excited about the class room and the school activities. But, at the same time, children are also anxious and fearful. They are afraid of being away from mommy and daddy. They are afraid that they will fail. And they are afraid that they will get lost on the way home from school.

Parents are also anxious during their child’s first day of schooling. They want to know that their child will be safe. They want their child to fit in and make friends. They want their child to be successful in their lessons. And  perhaps, they will miss their child while the child is away at school.  It is understandable that parents  will be anxious.  It is also important to remember that children pick up on their parent’s emotional state. Children have a keen sense of knowing when something is wrong. Parents should make every effort to sound cheerful when talking about their child’s first day of schooling. Parents should encourage their child by promoting positive thoughts about the learning process. Parents should also give their child confidence by preparing their child through a child day care or a home day care center prior to entering formal education.

Prepare your child for the first day of schooling by making an appointment with the teacher prior to the start of school. In this way,  both parent and child can meet the teacher, see the classroom, and ask any questions they might have.  During this meeting, parents should make sure that they know how their child will travel to and from school (for example: Will the child be riding a bus? What is the bus number and what is the bus driver’s name.)  Ask the teacher what types of activities the children will be doing. Remember to sound excited about all the activities. In this way, your child will believe that schooling is something special and they will be excited also.

Make sure your child is prepared for the first day of schooling by having the proper clothing and school supplies. Get a list from the child’s teacher and then go shopping. Allow your child as much freedom as possible when picking out clothing and school supplies.

Help your child to feel confident by making sure that they know the way to and from the bus stop; and that they know their way around the school building.  Encourage your child to do well by constantly telling your child how much confidence  you have in him or her.  Always sound cheerful when talking about school.

The first day of schooling for your child does not have to be a traumatic experience. Remember to prepare your child through day care centers, a meeting with the teacher, and encouragement and excitement from you (the parent). With just a bit of effort, the first day of schooling can be an exciting and rewarding experience.

Children need constant stimulation. Providing stimulating and fun activities provides children with the opportunity to explore their world in a safe environment.  Educational toys do not have to be expensive they just have to be well made.  Many educational toys can be made at home with ordinary household items.  Other educational toys should be brought or provided by a teacher or child day care center. 

Infants do more than just sleep and eat.  Research studies suggest that the mind of an infant is constantly growing.  As the mind expands, infants are observing all that is around them and learning from their environment.  During infancy, the most stimulating toys are made out of black and white.  Black and white mobiles can be hand made. Simply cut out circles and squares (you can use cardboard or sturdy paper). Use a marker to color simple patterns on the squares.   Tie the shapes to the end of a string and then hang them from the ceiling over your infant’s bed. As the infant grows, the feeling of touch will become important.  This is also the time that the child will be putting toys into his mouth. At this stage it is important to buy the educational toy from a store.  When choosing a toy make sure that the materials are non toxic (meaning that it can not harm the child if accidentally swallowed).  Parents should also make sure that there are no small buttons or pieces that the child can swallow and choke on.

Around twelve months of age, the infant will start to walk.  The best educational toys at this time are those that make sounds and encourage walking.  Some toys are on wheels and are made to encourage the child to walk along with the toys.  These types of toys have bright colors and make sounds when they are pushed.  Other toys include stuffed animals on wheels that can be pulled. The animals will bark, squeak, or yelp when pulled. An excellent outdoor walking toy is the bubble blower. It looks like a grass mower but blows bubbles when pushed.

As the child grows, it will become important to provide the child with educational toys that teach fine motor and manipulation skills.  An excellent first toy is one with plastic rings on a pole.  The child learns by attempting to put the rings onto the pole.  The process is continued until the child finally learns the skill.  Other educational toys include shapes on pegs that are put inside a cube with holes in it.   The child learns by figuring out what hole each shape fits into.

Older children need educational toys that teach basic reading and math skills.  These types of educational toys include board games and books.  Ordinary household items can be used to teach math.  Have your child group together stones, sticks, etc.  In this way you will be teaching your child how to add and subtract.

By providing your child with educational toys and activities; you are giving them an opportunity to learn basic life skills. Children who have educational toys are less bored and more likely to stay out of trouble.

Depression is not just an adult disease. Depression also strikes young children. Sometimes it is hard for adults to understand why their child may be depressed.  To an adult, it seems that childhood is easy. But to a child suffering from depression, life can be a dark and scary place.

The first step in dealing with a depressed child is knowing how to recognize the signs of depression.  Depressed children usually withdraw from their friends and families, preferring to spend time alone.   The child will loose interest in activities that they once enjoyed including games, clubs, or sports.   Parents may notice that their child is slipping in school, not completing home work assignments, or getting poor grades.  Depressed children cry easily and it does not take much to make them upset.

Often, depression will lead to suicidal thoughts or an actual attempt at suicide.  Take action quickly if your child starts talking about death, giving away their possessions, or talking about suicide. All of these things are keys that the child is close to seriously hurting or killing themselves.

One of the worse things a parent can do when dealing with a depressed child is to belittle their child’s emotions or problems. By belittling the child, the parent is conveying the message that they do not care about the child’s happiness or well being.  Instead, take extra measures to make the child feel happy and loved by giving praises, hugs, and verbally telling the child that he/she is loved by you.

Attempt to talk to your child about his or her problems. It may be that the child is having trouble at school. Did they just break up with their girlfriend or boyfriend?  It could be that there are issues within the family which are leading to the depression.

Sometimes depression is caused by a chemical imbalance within the brain. In this case, the child can not help but feel depressed even though there is nothing wrong in the child’s life. Chemical depression is easily treated with medication but it is just as serious as other forms of depression.

Do not delay to seek help in learning how to deal with a depressed child.  Consult your family doctor or a hospital which deals with childhood depression.  The sooner you get your child the help, the better it will be for both your child and your family.  Treatments for depression may include hospitalization (if the depression is serious enough), medication, and counseling for both the child and his/her family.