KIDS' PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH | BY @brendalisa01

Greetings to you parents, guardian,kids and steemians. It is a very beautiful Monday and I am delighted to be here to discuss something exciting. As parents, our goal is to see our children turn to normal and responsible adult with functional physical and mental health. I will be discussing about kid's physical and mental health and how prioritizing health routines helps them feel better today and sets them straight in years to come.

INTRODUCTION
Physical health of a child is the state of their body while mental health is the state of mind, feelings and emotions. Being physically healthy means keeping the body strong and healthy while being mentally healthy during childhood means reaching developmental and emotional milestone and learning healthy social skills and how to cope when their are problems.

ROLES OF PARENTS/GUARDIANS IN MAINTAINING A GOOD PHYSICAL HEALTH OF A CHILD

GIVING THE CHILD NUTRITIOUS FOOD

Nutrition is very important for children because it enables them stay healthy and strong and helps them grow up healthy and strong. It can also establish a foundation for healthy eating habits and nutritional information your child can apply throughout life. Such kind of food includes rice, beans, milk, meat, fish,yam,etc. Fruit are also encouraged to be given to them regularly as this helps build their immunity get some vitamins. It is very important to serve whole fruit instead of fruit juices.

ADEQUATE SHELTER AND SLEEP

Providing a comfortable sleeping environment and a good sleeping routine is very important for a child's physical health. So it is vital to get at least 8-12 hours of sleep every day so they can feel physically relaxed and refreshed and to increase their capacity to work. If a child does not sleep well, their daily routine would be disturbed and they will not be able to function well.

IMMUNIZATION

Parents and guardians should ensure that all immunization be given to a child as at when due as this protects them from serious diseases and health problems. Some of those vaccines are:

• Hepatitis B
• Rotavirus(diphtheria,tetanus and pertussis)
• Haemophilus influenza type B
• Puemococcal
• Poliovirus
• Influenza (measles, mumps and rubella)
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Hepatitis A
• Meningococcal ( for certain high-risk group).

HEALTHY LIVING ENVIRONMENT

It is important that a child's living environment should be kept neat always to prevent the child from contacting serious diseases that can affect their physical health.

ROLES OF CHILDREN IN MAINTAINING A GOOD PHYSICAL HEALTH

EXERCISE

As a child, you need to engage in good physical activities with your friends like running, jumping, skipping and playing some sports like football, basketball, volleyball, etc, so that your body will be strong and healthy and you would be able to maintain a healthy weight, improve your focus, school performance, sleep and energy levels.

REDUCING INTAKE OF SUGARY FOOD AND DRIN

Too much intake of that does more harm than good to your body. It can suppress immunity,it can lead to unhealthy cravings as they grow up,it can lead to obesity which puts the child at risk of developing high blood pressure, evelated cholesterol and type 2 diabetes

DRINK ALOT OF WATER

Our body is made up of 60% water, so our body needs more water. By increasing the intake of water, the elements in water like hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, magnesium, sodium,etc, will reach to all organs of the body. Water helps in digestion and keeps the organs like the kidney clean and healthy so as to avoid many disease conditions.

ROLES OF PARENTS IN MAINTAINING/IMPROVING THE MENTAL HEALTH OF A CHILD

CRITICIZE THE BEHAVIOR,NOT THE CHILD

If a child does something bad,it is important not to talk bad of the child,but to talk bad of the behavior. For example, instead of saying you are a very bad boy for doing that, you can say what you did was very bad. It really creates a negative impart on their mental health.

ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD TO PLAY

To children, play is just fun. However, playtime is as important to their development as food and good are. Playtime helps children be creative, learn problem-solving skills and learn self control. Good,hardy play, which includes running and yelling is not only fun,but helps children to be physically and mentally healthy.

TELEVISION AND PHONE USE SHOULD BE MONITORED

Try not to use Tv as a baby-sitter on a regular basis, because when a child gets too used to it, they form an addiction for it and makes them not to be fully aware of their outside life,this leading to depression. It also makes them at risk of developing LAZY EYE SYNDROME where the child has reduced/blurry vision and is not correctible by glasses. It also promotes lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle both of which imparts heart and brain.

AVOID SARCASTIC REMARKS

If a child loses a game or fails a test, find out how they feel and encourage them instead of saying or doing something that mocks or insults a child.

BE HONEST

Do not hide your failures from your children because it is important for them to know that we all can make mistakes. It can be very reassuring to know that the adults are not perfect

INVOLVE THEM IN DECISION MAKING

As adults, we feel we know what is best for our child and so children are often left out in decision making process. Of course, it is more appropriate for parents to make a final decision. However, finding ways to include your child in making decisions can help them feel that they are heard and valued at home.

ROLES OF CHILDREN IN IMPROVING/MAINTAINING THEIR MENTAL HEALTH

OPEN UP TO YOUR PARENTS

Knowing you are valued by others is important in helping you think more positively and overcome the negative aspects of life. Their is also evidence that being more trusting can increase your emotional well-being because as you get better at finding the positive aspects in other people, you become better at recognizing your own. So always be open to them and tell them thing that are bordering you.

DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE

Research shows that being helpful to others has a beneficial effects on how you feel about yourself. Being helpful and kind -and being valued for what you do- is a great way to build self-esteem. The meaning you find in helping others will enrich and expand your life.

MOVE YOUR BODY

Your body releases stress-relieving and mood-boosting chemicals called endorphins Everytime you move your body which is why exercise is a powerful antidote to depression, anxiety and improves your overall mental health.

TELL YOURSELF SOMETHING POSITIVE

Research shows that how you think about yourself can have a powerful effect on how you feel. So always tell yourself,I can achieve whatever I want, I can do it, I can be better than this,etc.

WRITE DOWN SOMETHING YOU ARE GRATEFUL FOR

Gratitudes has been clearly linked with improved well-being and mental health as well as happiness. The best researched method to increase feelings of gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal or write a daily gratitude list. You can be grateful for God, your parents, your teachers,your friends, your neighbors,etc.

BENEFITS OF MAINTAINING A GOOD PHYSICAL HEALTH

• It prevents childhood obesity
• It helps develop the brain and support essential mental functions.
• It leads to improved motor skills such as hand-eye co-ordination.
• It leads to better thinking and problem solving
• It develops stronger attention skills
• It leads to improved learning
• It helps build healthy bones, muscles,heart and lungs.
• It improves emotional well-being.

BENEFITS OF MAINTAINING A GOOD MENTAL HEALTH

• Ieads to improved relationship
• It leads to improved body image (self-esteem,self-worth and self-confidence).
• It Leads to improved self expression and management of emotions.
• It reduces depression, anxiety and other mental health conduct.
• It improves communication skills and interpersonal skills

CONCLUSION

It is important to note that both the parents and the child has a role in maintaining a child's physical and mental health. Physical activities keeps body strong and healthy and can improve mental health by decreasing symptoms of loneliness and pain. It improves focus, school performance, sleep and energy levels. Improving mental health improves relationship, self-esteem and self actualization.

My introduction post link is seen below

https://steemit.com/hive-172186/@brendalisa01/my-introduction-post-to-steemit-or-mentorship-by-cryptokannon