As a parent, you have to make a bunch of different health decisions for your kids as they’re growing up. Some of them are easy to make, whereas others take some more thought and research. So, as the adult in a household, it’s better to do your information gathering earlier rather than later.
A few of the situations you might want to think about are getting braces for your kid’s teeth, having them get a yearly sports physical after a certain age, if you want to give them any diet restrictions, and if you think mental health counseling would be appropriate at during various stages of their life.
Braces for Teeth
If you decide to get braces for your teenager, there are a lot more options now than there used to be. Big, thick metal braces, retainers, rubber bands – those used to be par for the course, and they could be expensive, painful, and unsightly. Now there are smaller braces, more efficient methods for straightening teeth, and even invisible bite guards to use. The cost will vary depending on what you’re trying to get corrected, but it really is better to have your kids get braces earlier rather than later.
Yearly Sports Physicals
After a certain age, it’s not a bad idea for your kids to get sports physicals every year. At the very least, these can figure out if there’s anything specifically wrong with your child’s health that can get examined or even corrected early on in life. Especially when it comes to things like heart conditions, getting these physicals regularly when your children are younger means that they can potentially be protected against certain pre-existing conditions.
Diet Restrictions
Though it might be difficult, it might be up to you as a parent to decide if your kids should have any dietary restrictions. This doesn’t mean that you should harass your children if you think they are too skinny or too big, but it does mean that you could do things like buying less candy or processed foods to keep around your household. Children’s dietary habits start at home, so it’s not a bad idea to at least control that environment.
Mental Health Counseling
There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with allowing your kids to get mental health counseling every once in a while if you think it would benefit them as well. Having a counselor that your child can talk to privately, especially during years where they may be feeling lonely or depressed, can be a great thing for their emotional development. Children don’t always want to talk about some things with their parents, which is where a counselor can come into play to help them work through certain situations.
Originally posted on April 16, 2018 @ 4:54 pm