child health – Nannyjob blog

Celebrating Child Health Day: Tips for Raising Healthy, Happy Kids

Child Health Day, observed on the first Monday of October, is a time to focus on the well-being of our children. It’s a reminder to prioritise their physical, emotional, and mental health, and to take steps to create a safe and nurturing environment. Whether you’re a parent, nanny, or caregiver, there are many ways to contribute to a child’s health and happiness. Here are some practical tips to help you celebrate Child Health Day by fostering a healthy lifestyle for the children in your care.

Introduction

1. Encourage Physical Activity

Physical activity is essential for children’s growth and development. Encourage them to engage in at least 60 minutes of active play every day, whether it’s running, biking, dancing, or playing a sport. Physical activity not only improves fitness but also enhances mood, concentration, and overall well-being.

2. Focus on Nutritious Eating Habits

Good nutrition is vital for a child’s development. Offer a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Limit sugary snacks and processed foods, and encourage children to drink plenty of water. Make mealtimes fun by involving children in meal planning and preparation.

3. Prioritise Mental and Emotional Health

A child’s mental and emotional health is just as important as their physical health. Foster open communication and create a safe space for them to express their feelings. Encourage mindfulness practices, such as deep breathing or journaling, to help manage stress and emotions.

4. Ensure Adequate Sleep

Sleep is crucial for children’s growth, learning, and behavior. Establish a regular bedtime routine and ensure they get the recommended amount of sleep for their age. A consistent sleep schedule helps improve concentration, memory, and mood.

5. Promote Regular Health Check-Ups

Regular check-ups with a pediatrician, dentist, and eye specialist are essential for monitoring a child’s health and development. Stay up-to-date with vaccinations and screenings to prevent illness and detect any issues early.

Conclusion

Child Health Day is a wonderful opportunity to recommit to raising healthy, happy children. By encouraging physical activity, nutritious eating, good sleep habits, and emotional well-being, we can help children thrive today and in the future.

Top Tips to Encourage Physical Activity in Children

Encouraging your child to be more physically active isn’t as hard as it might at first seem. First of all, children are generally full of energy, much more it seems than adults and so all you need to do is guide them into using that energy.

Physical activity is extremely important for children. It helps to build muscles, coordination, and concentration whilst also helping to maintain mental and emotional health.

It’s never too young to begin fostering a love of exercise and activity in children as it can become a habit that helps them to stay healthy and active throughout their entire life.

According to the NHS, young children (under the age of three) need around 3 hours of physical activity each day, with children older needing at least 1 hour per day.

With very young children, simply using things like a baby walker, walking around and playing is good enough, but as children get older, it can feel more challenging, especially as they start to play video games that can lead to long periods of time without movement. That’s why we’ve put together these top tips to help get your children up and active:

Explore the outdoors – Whatever the weather, try to explore the outdoors a few times each week. This can be as simple as visiting the local park or playground, but don’t forget to take advantage of any other outdoor areas around you such as open fields, nature reserves and woodlands to help your child burn their energy. You don’t even have to worry about structured play, so long as it’s safe to do so, let your child roam and explore, they’ll soon wear themselves out whilst benefitting from fresh air and making their own choices.
Meet up with friends – Bringing other children into the mix is a great way to boost energy levels and activity. Arranging a group meetup at the playground, park, swimming baths or soft play centre is a great way of getting your child active and keeping it social. Children are usually more excited to play with others and won’t notice they’re even exercising. It’ll also give you time to socialise with other adults.
Bring it inside – Remember that exercise isn’t limited to outside. There’s plenty that you can do inside whether it’s a dance party, home yoga class, a game of twister or simply doing the housework. They all count as exercise, so get moving.
Join a class or group – How about a swimming class, gymnastics or dance club? Check your local schools, community centres and Facebook groups for classes near you that your child might enjoy. Not only will they stay active, they’ll learn new skills and make new friends.
Set an example – Children often copy what they see, so be a positive role model. Go for walks together, do yoga or an online fitness programme at home, go swimming. Simply being active yourself is often enough to encourage your child to follow suit.

How do you keep your children active? Share your tips and advice in the comments!

Common Childhood Illnesses: A Guide

As someone with young children in your care daily, it’s important to have a basic understanding of common childhood illnesses and how to treat them.

Here are 5 common illnesses, their symptoms and how to treat them:

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Sleep Difficulties with Children – How a Nanny Can Help

Having a young child who won’t or can’t sleep can have a knock-on effect for the entire family.

Sleep problems for babies and young children are becoming more commonplace and routines can be extremely difficult to stick to, especially when you’re not around your child 24/7. That’s where a nanny can step in and help to keep the routine running smoothly so that everyone in the family stays fully rested.

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A Nanny’s Guide to Staying Healthy

Life as a nanny can be hectic and exhausting. You spend all day taking care of the family you work for, but who takes care of you?

If you want to do your job well, and more importantly, live a healthy life, it’s important that you take good care of your health and well-being to avoid getting ill or simply burning out.

Follow these 5 tips to help keep your health in tip top condition:

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Nannying for children in hospital

Most children will end up visiting the hospital at some point in their life. The lucky ones have a quick trip to A&E and go straight home but sometimes a longer stay is needed. This can be a very testing time for the family and you may need to step into the breach to provide support but it can be difficult to know what to do beyond keeping everything ticking over.

If there are other children in the family your job probably won’t change much athough you might end up working longer hours to allow your employers to spend time at the hospital. Ask whether siblings are allowed to visit and if the parents would like your charges to see each other. Bear in mind that some hospitals don’t allow children to go onto the ward so be ready to suggest other ways your charges can keep in touch, such as drawing pictures or speaking on skype.

You can support the parents by packing supplies for your charge ready to take to the hospital. Hospital food often isn’t appetising so if they are allowed to take snacks in then you can go to the shops and prepare a care package for them to take in. You can also keep up a stream of clean pyjamas and other clothes as hospitals can be hot and sticky places. If allowed, toys from home will help relieve some of the boredom of being stuck in a hospital bed, and for school aged children keep in touch with school in case they ask to do some homework! It’s a huge help for parents to be able to come home, empty a bag and repack it with everything that’s been laid out ready.

Volunteer to take a turn sitting at the bedside to give your employer’s a break and provide a change of scenery for your charge. Your employers will feel more relaxed leaving their poorly child with someone they know and trust too. Children’s development doesn’t stop when they’re in hospital so you can talk to the doctors and nurses about providing some suitable activities. Encourage them to play, talk and laugh with you as they would at home.

You also need to recognise that it’s a worrying time for you. Most nannies become deeply aatached to their charges and it’s difficult to see someone you love in distress. Look after yourself and don’t be afraid to share your feelings with your family or nanny friends.

When they come home from hospital your charge may have medication to take or specific care routines to follow. Make sure you’re clear on what these are and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Communication will be more important than ever and be sensitive to the fact that your employers might want to check in with you more often to see how everything is going.

If you’re a nanny and have some tips about working with a hospitalised charge don’t hestitate to share them on our Facebook page, Twitter or our messageboards.

Explaining Terrorism to Children

As parents and caregivers, it can be extremely difficult to answer questions from children about terrorism. It’s a heart-breaking subject that you might wish you could push away or not discuss, but it’s quickly becoming a necessity due to the world that we live in.

The act of terrorism and the horror it brings is hard for even most adults to come to terms with and understand, which is why, following the terrible events occurring all over the world, we’ve put together some advice to help explain terrorism to your children.

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100 mile summer

Keeping active, getting fit and having fun is what this summer is all about! So we want to challenge you to a 100 mile summer

Keeping active, getting fit and having fun is what this summer is all about! So we want to challenge you to a 100 mile summer.

The idea is that you walk, scoot, bike, swim, skip, hop or move in any other self-propelled way 100 miles before the start of the next school year. You can create a poster to keep you going, with key milestones marked, to track your progress all the way to 100 miles. You can even add in motivating treats and activities along the way if it helps you get going. You can do your 100 miles together with each person travelling 100 miles or you can count each person’ mile towards the total – but being pushed in a buggy doesn’t count! You can colour code your miles according to the type of transport, or according to whose miles they are, as long as you start racking them up.

So on your marks….

Get set….

GO!

Heatwave Safety Advice

As the hot weather we’ve been experiencing in the UK is set to continue until the end of July, we’ve put together some advice to ensure that everyone stays safe this summer!

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Can starting a blog be good for children?

It might seem like a strange question, especially with all the warnings about children and screen time that are constantly in the news, but can blogging actually be beneficial for children?

According to online safety charity WiredSafety, in 2017, there were over 6 million children around the world, regularly writing blogs and whilst there are a number of dangers revolving around children and the internet, there are also a number of benefits to blogging.

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