child health Archives - 3 Kids and Us

What Vitamins Are Good For Kids

April 26, 2022 by admin

Parents are always looking for vitamins that are good for their kids. It is important to make sure that your children are getting the right vitamins and minerals in order to grow and stay healthy. There are many different vitamins that are good for kids, and each one serves a different purpose. And it is almost impossible to feed your kid various required fruits and vegetables a day. So, in that case, to make sure that your kid is getting vitamins and nutrients properly, you can go for the organic gummy vitamins supplements that are found on the market nowadays. In this article, we will discuss some of the best vitamins for kids and what they do. We will also provide information on the sources of vitamins and the amount of each vitamin that is required for the growth and development of your kid.

Different types of vitamins

If you are like most parents, you want to make sure your children are getting the best possible nutrition. This includes ensuring they are taking vitamins and minerals that support good health. Some vitamins help promote growth and development, while others help to maintain a healthy immune system. It is important for parents to know which vitamins are essential for their children and to make sure they are getting the appropriate amount in their diet. Here is a list of some of the most important vitamins for kids, along with explanations of what they do and why they’re important.

Vitamins A

Vitamins are essential nutrients that the body needs to perform optimally. Vitamin A is a nutrient that is important for vision, reproduction, and cell growth. There are thirteen different vitamins, and each one has unique benefits for the body. Vitamin A is one of the more important nutrients, and it offers a range of benefits including improved vision, stronger bones, and better immunity. Source of Vitamin A: This vitamin is found in many different foods, including fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and meat.

Daily intake amount: Daily 400 micrograms of vitamin A is required for your children’s proper development.

Vitamin B12

Among thirteen essential vitamins, vitamin B12 is one of the most important for children. Here are some reasons why your kid needs vitamin B12:

It helps form red blood cells.
It maintains a healthy nervous system.
It also helps create DNA and is essential for proper brain function.
Vitamin B12 supports energy production and metabolism.

Source of Vitamin B12: It is important to make sure your child gets enough of this crucial vitamin by adding foods like beef, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, and cheese to their diet, or by taking a supplement if needed.

Daily intake amount: 1.2 micrograms of Vitamin B12 daily.

Vitamin C

The benefits of vitamins are vast and well-known. Vitamin C is important for your kid as it helps in the development and maintenance of bones, cartilage, teeth, and gums. Vitamin C is also essential for wound healing. A disease called scurvy is caused by a lack of vitamin C .

Sources of Vitamin C: Foods that are high in vitamin C include citrus fruits, tomatoes, broccoli, and strawberries.

Daily intake amount: Kids need about 75 mg of vitamin C per day.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is one of the essential vitamins that helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus from food, which is essential for building strong bones and teeth. A deficiency in vitamin D can lead to a weakened immune system, poor growth, and even rickets (a bone disease caused by lack of vitamin D).

Sources of Vitamin D: Luckily, getting enough vitamin D is easy – your child can get it from sun exposure, foods fortified with vitamin D, liver, red meat, or supplements.

Daily intake amount: daily 800 milligrams of vitamin D is required for your kid’s body function to work properly.

Vitamin K

It is very important for every parent to ensure that their children get all the essential vitamins and minerals needed for their growth and development. One such vitamin that is often overlooked is Vitamin K. Here are some of the top reasons you should make sure your child gets enough Vitamin K:

1) It helps support healthy bones – One of the main roles of Vitamin K is to help with calcium absorption, which is important for developing strong bones.

2) It aids in wound healing – If your child sustains a cut or scrape, Vitamin K may help them heal faster. It also helps with blood clotting action.

3) It supports cardiovascular health – Studies have shown that Vitamin K can help decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Sources of Vitamin K: There are many sources of Vitamin K. The most common source is leafy green vegetables. Other sources include certain fruits, dairy products, and meat products. Each of these sources provides different levels of Vitamin K. Knowing which foods provide the most Vitamin K can help you ensure that you are getting enough of this important nutrient.

Daily intake amount: Per day 55 micrograms of Vitamin K is required for your kid.

Vitamins are important for kids and they should continue to receive their recommended dosages. While it is always best to get nutrients from food, there may be times when a vitamin supplement is necessary. Speak with your pediatrician if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s nutrition and health.

Preparing Your Child for a Hospital Stay

August 5, 2021 by admin

A stay at the hospital is never ideal, but it can be especially frightening for children. If it was up to you, you would surely trade places with your child rather than subjecting them to a stay at a strange place with unfamiliar faces, but unfortunately, there are times when a night spent in the hospital is necessary and unavoidable.

The next best thing to trading places with your child is to do everything you can to prepare them for their hospital stay. There are a few things you can do to prepare them and put them at ease:

Explain All of the Various Roles to Them

It seems that more than ever before, there are an awful lot of people involved in a hospital experience. Your child will interact with many more people than just a doctor and a nurse when they spend time at the hospital.

There may be individuals present from organizations like provider’s choice scribe services that record interactions between your child and the doctor, teams with multiple nurses, imagery experts, and students in the case of a teaching hospital. There are a number of different medical professionals involved in your child’s hospital stay.

Interacting with all of these different people can be intimidating if your child isn’t prepared for it. Therefore, discussing all of the roles involved in your child’s care is an important element to preparing them for being at the hospital.

Pack Things to Entertain Your Child

Being at the hospital isn’t just scary, it can also be very boring and time can feel like it moves much more slowly. Giving your child entertainment that they typically enjoy at home can go a long way to making the experience more entertaining and make the environment feel more familiar.

The best sorts of entertainment are things that your child can completely immerse themselves in, like coloring books, handheld video games, laptop computer games, and small craft projects. Make sure that whatever you include doesn’t have too many small pieces that can end up creating a mess for nurses to clean up. It may also be best to avoid very expensive gadgets that could be stolen.

Talk About Times You’ve Gone to the Hospital

It may be a natural instinct for you to avoid thinking about the hospital or talking about it with your child, but explaining your experiences at the hospital could help your child understand that this is an experience all people go through and not something that they need to be very afraid of. Naturally, it’s best to leave out any particularly frightening details or bad experiences.

Make the Most of Your Child’s Hospital Stay

Although you surely wish that your child could stay healthy forever, the fact is that they will need to go to the hospital at some point in their lives. Properly preparing your child for the hospital can make the experience much more manageable.

How to Help Your Child Avoid Bad Health Habits

April 22, 2021 by admin

Bad habits don’t form overnight. Rather, they develop slowly over long periods of time. As such, it can be difficult to notice if you –– or someone in your family –– starts to fall into a bad health habit. Parents in particular are right to be concerned about their kids forming poor dietary and exercise patterns early in life. To prevent that from occurring, today we’ll explore how moms and dads can spot, stop, and reverse bad habits that could affect the health of their little ones. Check it out here:

Communicate

Communication is vital to every relationship. It should come as no surprise that one of the best ways to monitor the health and happiness of a child is to simply talk to them! While they may not be able to articulate everything that they notice or feel, they can certainly let you know if they think something’s wrong. Similarly, parents should have regular dialogue with teachers, babysitters, and other parents to make sure that their children aren’t building bad habits outside of the house.

Set a Good Example

Kids can tell when their parents aren’t being genuine with them. If you say to your child that a good night of sleep is very important, but you yourself often stay up late and fail to get quality rest, that message will be unlikely to carry much weight. This is why setting a good example for your kids is fundamental. Going on walks, eating healthy meals, visiting healthcare clinics like Northwest Surgery Center if you have a problem, and generally following wellness best practices on your own will help your child develop good habits as well. Children take cues from their parents constantly, so be sure to exemplify the habits you want them to follow.

Consult with a Professional

It’s impossible for even the most vigilant parents to identify every problem that could affect their child right away. Sometimes bad habits can form as a result of physical ailments or emotional distress. As a general rule, parents should schedule regular health checkups for their kids as often as needed. However, if you’re concerned about your child’s behavior for a specific reason, then it’s a good idea to consult with a medical expert.

Be Patient

Breaking a bad habit is tough. Getting a child to curtail a bad habit can be even more challenging. Parents must be patient and persistent though, to ensure the long-term health and happiness of their children. Your patience now will be hugely important for the development of your child –– remember that when things get tough!

5 Signs of Toxic Stress in Your Children

September 29, 2020 by admin

Did you know that Americans are some of the most stressed people in the world?

When most people think about stress, they imagine adults worrying about finances, relationships, their career, and so much more. However, it’s important to remember that children can be just as negatively affected by stress as adults.

Are you worried about having stressed children? Keep reading to learn 5 signs of toxic stress in children so you’ll be able to recognize when your child is struggling.

Increased Agitation

One of the most common signs of stress in children is increased agitation and other negative emotions. Like adults, stressed kids have a higher chance of overreacting to situations and having a hard time communicating their feelings in a healthy way. In order to avoid these painful outbursts, it’s important to find resources like this post that can teach you about stress management for children.

Having Trouble Sleeping

Lying awake in bed worrying when you’re exhausted is one of the worst feelings. While adults can manage to power through the day after a restless evening, children can suffer a lot more because they need lots of sleep to continue growing healthily.

One simple way you can address your child’s insomnia is to read children’s books about stress together. Not only will reading to them help them feel comforted and sleepy, but the contents in these books can help them learn how to address their stress.

Hyperactivity

Have you ever gotten the jitters when you feel stressed? Most adults are able to put on a mask that hides their stress from the rest of the world. Kids aren’t as experienced at this, which means their stress can also come out as hyperactivity.

If you notice that your kid is a lot more active than usual, this could be a sign that they’re trying to find a way to burn through their nervous energy.

Changed Eating Patterns

Stress in children can also change the way they eat. Stress can cause your child to eat much more or less than normal and even affect how long it takes them to finish their meals. Proper nutrition is essential for their wellbeing, so it’s crucial for parents to pay attention to what and how much they eat.

Withdrawal From Loved Ones

Another major symptom of toxic stress is withdrawing from loved ones. It’s normal for children to seek out some alone time every now and then to decompress, but it should be concerning if they start isolating themselves on a regular basis. Respecting your child’s boundaries is great, but you should always be patient and try to get them to open up about their feelings so you can help them feel better.

Now You Know More About Toxic Stress in Children

If you notice any of these 5 signs of toxic stress in children, it’s important to take all of the steps necessary to improve their mental health.

Do you want to know how you can help your family thrive? Make sure you browse our blog to find more helpful tips and guides.

How to Handle the Most Common Kid Sensitivities

August 15, 2017 by admin

Watching your child grow and develop is one of the most wondrous things a person can experience. Children are extremely resilient during the early developmental phases, yet vulnerable at the same time. Parents have to watch out for a number of sensitivities that don’t cause older kids trouble but commonly affect youngsters.

Below is an overview of some of those sensitivities and what you can do to relieve them.

Skin Sensitivities

Compared to our sun-beaten skin, babies and children have very sensitive epidermis. They can experience a number of skin sensitivities, even if they don’t have an allergy.

Some of the most common skin sensitivities include:

Eczema – Eczema is extremely common among children. Estimates show that around 10% of kids worldwide have it. The condition, which can develop in infancy, can cause the skin to be dry, itchy and easily irritated to the point a rash forms.

Contact Dermatitis – A number of irritants can affect a young child’s sensitive skin. Even tight clothing that rubs against the skin can cause problems. When they do come across irritants it can cause contact dermatitis. Some of the most common causes of contact dermatitis include dye chemicals, nickel, mouthwash and toothpaste ingredients, poison ivy and cosmetics.

Heat Rash – Little kids seem to run hot, which can show up in the form of a heat rash.

Dryness and Chapping – A child’s skin may look smooth and soft, but it can easily dry out. And it’s not just from the wind and cold. When kids wash their hand a lot or frequently lick their lips it can dry out the skin.

Hives – Most cases of hives can be chalked up to virus sensitivity. Even a small stomach bug can cause red, bumpy hives in young children.

The clothing you buy can make a difference. If a child suffers from contact dermatitis or dry skin, clothing items like seamless socks for kids, pants without tight waistbands and clothing without tags are often recommended.

Moisturizers that contain soothing ingredients like oatmeal are also recommended for a number of skin sensitivities. Of course, keeping your kid’s skin hydrated will help prevent dryness and chapping.

Sun Sensitivity

In addition to irritants, allergens and the environment, the sun can also affect children more so than adults. They haven’t had time to build up a tough exterior to ward off burns, but that isn’t the only problem created by the sun.

Photosensitivity can also be an issue. The term photosensitivity is a blanket term for a number of sun allergies. Doctors aren’t sure why some people develop photosensitivity, although some types of sun allergies can be inherited. The most common types of sun allergies include:

Polymorphous light eruption (PMLE)
Actinic prurigo (hereditary PMLE)
Solar urticarial (occurs most often in young women and girls)
Photoallergic eruption (occurs due to chemical reaction after a topical cream or fragrance is applied to the skin)

The symptoms of sun allergies are similar, usually resulting in a red, itchy rash. If solar urticarial is the problem your child may develop hives.

The easiest way to prevent sun allergies is to limit exposure. But that doesn’t mean you have to keep your kid inside 24/7. Make sure they wear loose, lightweight clothing that covers the skin and avoid times when the sun is strongest. It’s also important to slather on broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 20 or higher.

Food Sensitivities

Getting kids to try new foods can be a challenge, but you may also have to contend with a sensitive digestive tract. A number of foods can cause adverse reactions in kids. The good news is many children outgrow food allergies as they get older.

Some of the most common food allergies among children include:

Nuts
Peanuts
Eggs
Milk
Wheat
Soy
Seafood
Strawberries

Many of the food allergies above can cause skin reactions. If you don’t want to find out about a food allergy the hard way, there are several skin tests that your pediatrician or an allergist can perform to discover sensitivities.

Anytime you buy prepared meals or go out to eat it’s near impossible to know what all is in the food you and your children consume. If you’re concerned about food allergies and sensitivity, the best thing you can do is prepare food at home as much as possible. You can even make homemade baby food as soon as you begin to wean your child.

Persistent problems that don’t improve with over-the-counter treatments deserve more attention. If your baby, toddler or child has a strong reaction to irritants, allergens, the sun or food schedule an appointment with your pediatrician as soon as you can.