Doctors Your Child Needs

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Pediatrician or Family Physician

The choice between a pediatrician (a doctor who treats children only) and a family physician or general practitioner is one for you to make. Both can meet the needs of your child—annual physical exams, disease care, treatment of common illnesses, etc.

Dentist or Pediatric Dentist

When your child develops his or her first tooth, it’s a time to rejoice—and to see a dentist. Early examinations will help protect your child’s teeth and set up a lifetime of good dental health. Follow the first trip with semiannual visits for teeth cleaning and periodontal exams.

Optometrist or Ophthalmologist

Your child should have his or her first vision screening before age 5, even if you haven’t noticed any eye problems. Both optometrists and ophthalmologists specialize in the treatment of eyes and problems affecting the eyes. The difference is that an ophthalmologist can perform surgeries, while an optometrist cannot.

Gynecologist

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends each young woman have her first gynecological visit between the ages of 13 and 15—regardless of sexual activity. This doesn’t mean she will have her first pelvic exam or Pap smear. Instead, the first visit lays the groundwork for future visits and provides an opportunity for the doctor to discuss periods, cramps, sex, and birth control needs.

Healthy Eating for Kids

Fueling a child’s body with the right foods not only supports growth but can establish lifelong eating habits. Kids who do not have a healthy diet as they are growing up can turn into unhealthy teens and adults. Establishing a healthy eating pattern early on is critical for a lifetime of health.

This May Help

Eat Light and Often

Children need to eat more frequently than adults because their stomachs are smaller. Offer your children nutritious snacks in between meals and encourage proper portion control at meals.

Balance

To prevent excess weight gain, encourage regular physical activity and balance portion sizes with calories burned.

Eat as a Family

Studies show that families who eat together provide kids with more nutrition overall. Eating lunch together may be impossible, but aim to eat breakfast and dinner as a family as often as feasible.

Eat Your Veggies

Your kids won’t eat vegetables if they don’t see you eating them. Make sure to model the kind of behavior you want your kids to have. Make eating produce easy: have fresh fruits and veggies on hand and easily accessible so kids will reach for them, and serve a fruit and/or vegetable at every single meal.

Serve Nutrient Rich Foods

Kids need all of their vitamins and minerals to grow properly. Serve foods high in nutritional quality to make sure they are getting everything they need. Focus on making sure your kids are eating foods rich in:

• iron
• calcium
• protein
• vitamin C
• fiber

Start giving kids whole grain varieties of grains early on, so that they learn to enjoy them. Incorporate the following into their diet:

• brown rice
• whole wheat bread
• whole wheat pasta
• barley
• quinoa

Variety

To prevent picky eaters, offer a variety of foods early on and encourage kids to try new foods. Get kids involved in planning, shopping, and cooking of food—you may find that if they are part of the process, they’ll be more likely to eat a variety of foods.

This May Hurt

Clean Your Plate Club

Encouraging kids to always clean their plate leads to overeating at many meals. Let them decide when they’re full. Once they are old enough (about five years), you should even allow them to serve themselves. And give them seconds if they are still hungry.

Filling Up on Juice

Too much fruit juice can be detrimental to your child’s eating habits and health. Your child may “fill up” on juice and not eat other nutritious foods. Juice also is liquid calories and may contribute to too many overall calories. Finally, all the sugar in fruit juices can lead to dental concerns.
For most children, eight ounces of 100% fruit juice should be the daily limit.

Poor Nutrient Quality

Many kids eat too many foods containing high amounts of fat, sugar, and sodium. Always offer nutritious foods first and consider “junk” foods only as an occasional special treat.

Becoming a Short Order Cook

Don’t end up making a special dinner for everyone in the family; picky eaters are created when parents allow their children to dictate what they will and won’t eat
Everyone in the family should be eating the same meal. The only exception is if someone in the family has an allergy. To get children to try new foods, ask them to take at least two to three bites of each food on their plate.

Portion Control

Encourage balance, variety, and moderation in a child’s eating pattern. Teach children what it feels like to be hungry, satisfied, full, and overfull. Encourage eating to satisfaction without overfilling their stomachs.
With special attention on what, when, and how much your child is eating you can raise a healthy eater who will eat a variety of foods at the correct portions for a lifetime.

Children’s Health Tips

Make a Breast-Feeding Decision

Breast-feeding is a wonderful way for you and baby to bond while you give him or herthe most all-natural nutrition possible. But breast-feeding isn’t for everyone; it requires a lot of time, dedication, and devotion to healthy eating and all-hour feedings. Working with your doctor, make a decision about what’s best for you and your child.

Provide Natural Foods

Processed foods are often full of sugar, sodium, unhealthy fats, and calories. Avoid making meals for your children using the fake stuff, and opt for fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean cuts of meat, fresh fish, poultry, and fiber-rich foods like beans and leafy greens. Grocery-shopping tip: Shop the perimeter of the store where the fresh foods are. Avoid the inside aisles where many of the processed foods reside.

Eat the Alphabet

Nearly all children get plenty of vitamins—A, B, C, D, etc.—in the foods they eat every day. A multivitamin is not generally necessary for children. Simply pack meals with vitamin-rich foods, and talk to your pediatrician about a daily multivitamin if you are concerned.

Avoid the “Clean Plate” Rule

Your grandmother had the best intentions for you when she wouldn’t let you leave the table before you finished your broccoli, but the truth is that your child knows when he or she is full and needs to stop eating. When children say they don’t want any more, they probably aren’t trying to skip out on their vegetables; their bodies are just letting them they’ve had enough. Overeating could lead to unwanted weight gain.

Get Them Off the Couch

Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Currently, nearly one in five children is overweight or obese—compared to just one in 20 children 30 years ago. Physical activity is very important for children, as it sets the stage for a lifetime of health and nutrition. Public health experts recommend 60 minutes of daily physical activity.
Team or individual sports are a great way to encourage physical activity. Outside a structured sports setting, motivate your children to spend more time playing than sitting. Plan family activity nights or set up play dates with neighbors.

Baby Their Skin

Summers are for kids, but summer sun isn’t. Ultraviolet (UV) light can damage the skin and increase chances for developing skin cancer later in life. Babies younger than six months should avoid direct sunlight if at all possible. (If being in the sun is unavoidable, use sunscreen with formulas designed for babies or kids.) Babies over six months and all children should wear a sunscreen with a sun protection factor of at least 30. Reapply every two hours or more frequently if your child is sweating or in the water.

Create a Healthy Smile

Good dental and oral health goes beyond a cavity-free set of chompers. Tooth decay, which affects more children than any other chronic infectious disease, is a serious concern for young kids. If left untreated, tooth decay can lead to problems with speaking and learning. Fluoride can almost completely eliminate tooth decay in young children. At each of their semiannual cleanings, your children should receive a fluoride treatment. If your tap water doesn’t have fluoride, ask your dentist about other ways to get fluoride.