5 Things parents must do for the health of their children in the future

Raising healthy children sounds simple enough. But, in practice, of course this is not easy to do. The reason is that the environment has a considerable influence on children's health. So, as a parent, what can you do to maintain their health? Check out the tips in this article.

1. Fulfill the nutritional intake

Providing proper nutritional intake is the key to maintaining the overall health of children. Regulating nutrients in food is actually not difficult. You can start by adopting a balanced diet that contains protein, carbohydrates and good fats from fruits and vegetables.

When cooking in the kitchen, choose cooking methods that don't use a lot of oil, such as baking, sauteing, and steaming. Reduce the consumption of excessive sugar and salt and replace the unhealthy snack menu with a bowl of fresh fruit that is rich in vitamins. Pay attention to the portion of the child's meal, serve food on smaller plates to keep the portions. Most importantly, oblige children to have breakfast every day and don't miss lunch or dinner.

2. Teach to be active

Most kids love watching TV. In general, they can spend hours watching their favorite cartoon series. This makes him lazy to move, which in turn can increase the risk of developing various diseases.

It's good to invite children to get used to active sports from an early age. With increasing age, it will be more difficult to develop children's habits to meet their physical activity needs.

Broadly speaking, exercise can help various body tissues to develop, and train the body to coordinate well. By actively moving, various bone, muscle, and joint tissues will be able to absorb nutrients better so that they can grow stronger.

3. Provide an understanding of the importance of maintaining personal health

Education on sexual knowledge given from an early age will make it easier for children to increase self-confidence, a healthy personality, as well as positive self-acceptance. You can explain to children in simple and easy to understand language that only they can take care of their own bodies so that they are always healthy, clean and awake. For example, by teaching him how to clean and care for the genital area properly and properly.

If you are talking about taking care of yourself and your genitals, then you are also ready to talk about puberty in children. Girls need to know about breast development and menstruation. Boys also need to know about erections and wet dreams. Don't consider these two things taboo. It is very important to teach sexual education to your teenager. If they don't get information from you, they will get some information from sources that are not clear where they come from and are misunderstood.

4. Perform immunizations

Vaccination, or what is also called immunization is the first step to prevent children from the dangers of disease. Immunization is done by injecting a weak form of a certain disease virus or bacteria which functions to trigger the child's immune response. So, the child's body will produce antibodies to fight the disease. Well, this is how immunization can increase a child's immunity.

In Indonesia, there are 5 types of compulsory immunization that are given free of charge at Posyandu since the baby is born, namely hepatitis B, BCG, polio, measles, and Pentavalent (DPT-HB-HiB). Currently the government has also implemented MR (Measles and German Measles) vaccination starting in 2017 as an immunization program. Especially for the pentavalent vaccine, it is given to prevent 6 diseases at once, namely diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, pneumonia, and meningitis (inflammation of the brain).

Meanwhile, other types of child immunization that should also be done are:

• Flu vaccine, which can be done when the child is at least 6 months old and repeated every year. This type of immunization is a safe immunization given to all children with different conditions.
• HPV Vaccine, can already be given when the child is 9 years old. This vaccine is given to protect the child's body from the human papilloma virus which can cause various diseases such as cervical cancer, anal cancer, vulvar pre-cancer, vaginal pre-cancer, and genital warts.
• Varicella vaccine, given after the child is 12 months old, it is best given before the child enters primary school. This vaccine serves to prevent children from chickenpox.
• Pneumococcal vaccine (PCV), given starting children aged 2 months (first dose), then a second dose at 4 months of age, and a third dose at 6 months of age. If given to children aged 7-12 months, 2 times with an interval of 2 months. This vaccine serves to protect the child's body from pneumococcal bacteria which can cause pneumonia.

5. Be a good role model

In addition to the various things that have been explained above, the basic key that is no less important for maintaining children's health is to be a good role model. Remember, children's behavior imitates their parents. Therefore, you are also required to adopt a healthy life as a whole. If you smoke, stop smoking. Also, avoid consuming alcoholic beverages. Set yourself as a good role model for the children later.

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