Important
areas to be followed carefully
Doctor Saxena described some important areas to
care for the children of this age-
1. Health
2. Growth
and Development
3. Nutritional
Diet
4. Physical
Activity
5. Sleep
6. Safety
and Security
7. Technological
Gadgets
8. Pre-school
Activity
Health
It is very important to be watchful about their health parameters.
- Consulting the Pediatrician
The Pediatrician should be easily available; Love and care for
the child and, of course, have professional expertise.
· Regular check-ups: It is advisable to
maintain rapport with a good pediatrician for regular check-ups of the child. The
main areas covered in these check-ups are:
ü
Growth and Development Parameters-These should be consistent
with their age. Their height and weight are the primary indicators.
ü
Required Vaccinations
ü
Proper diet advice
ü
Toilet training
The most common health problems of the children of this age are
detailed below:
- Upset stomach: Their stomach is very delicate. Therefore, every kind of eatable may not be agreeable to their digestion. Sometimes, they may suffer from constipation. Their bowel movement gets affected. They may not excrete or if they do, it is painful for them.
Too much milk or lack of fiber in the food may result in this condition.
It is usually defined as the passage of hard and painful stools or going four or more days without a bowel movement. The reverse condition is Diarrhea. In this condition, they pass watery stools frequently, with no control of the bowel movement. This may result in loss of fluids from the body which may become dangerous, if not cared for.
Fluid imbalance should, primarily, be checked and medicines to be given for controlling the infection. Sometimes, children develop vomiting tendency. It is caused by the reverse peristaltic movement of food in the alimentary canal. Mostly, it is caused because of overeating or some infection. It may result in dehydration and fluid imbalance in the body.
It needs care and medical attention. An upset stomach may also cause stomach-aches which should not be ignored for too long.
- Fever:
Fever, in itself, is no disease but an indication of some infection or similar problems in the body. It needs a thorough check-up and then follow-up of the medical advice. High fever should be avoided as it may turn dangerous for the child.
- Cold
and cough: Children are quite prone to viral diseases causing cough and cold. Sometimes, weather conditions may aggravate these conditions. Parental care is required to ensure their proper body coverage during the winter season, controlling exposure to the air-conditioner during the summer and avoiding their getting wet during the rains. Medical care and proper and getting wet during the rains.
Home remedies may take care but such conditions should not be allowed to aggravate.
- Vision
and hearing: One can see a large number of toddlers wearing spectacles because of their vision problems. It is caused due to their increased screen viewing time. Similarly, exposure to loud music or any other reason may cause hearing problems. Sometimes, tonsillitis may also cause loss of partial hearing. Close parental attention is required for attending to such small complaints of the children and not ignoring them. If needed,
specialists should also be consulted besides the pediatrician.
- Dental
Health: Unsuitable food intake like too much consumption of chocolates and ice cream; no follow-up of the dental hygiene like regular brushing of teeth and ignorance on part of the parents, may cause serious dental problems for the children. Parents should clean the children’s teeth with a soft toothbrush. Gradually, they should be encouraged to pick up this hygienic habit.
Growth and Development
Growth and
development of a child is both physical and mental.
Physical Growth Parameters- As described
under the regular check-up section in the Health section previously in this
article, children’s height and weight are measured and any deficiency/
irregularity needs to be taken care of, as per the advice of the pediatrician.
Mental Growth and Development Parameters- These can be measured by paying attention to the following
cognitive milestones:
· Vocabulary growth: The children
should be able to learn and follow more and more new words.
· Follow up: The children should be
able to understand and follow the instructions given.
· Clarity of Speech: The children
should be able to talk coherently.
· Counting: They should be able to
count the objects. This counting of the numbers should grow. For example, if
they can count up to five objects, they should increase it gradually to ten and
then more.
· Recognition: This is a very important
milestone. This involves knowing and recognizing people, shapes, colors,
letters, pictures, objects, words and road signs, etc.
· Attention Span: This
milestone is, again, very important. Their attention span should grow with age.
This gives rise to the process of concentration, which is so very important for
learning to gain knowledge.
· Common Knowledge: This
involves knowing morning, noon, evening, night; weekday; month; home address;
activities; names of food items, flowers, fruits, animals, birds, body parts;
phone number etc.
· Enjoyable Activities of the School: They should be able to recite the rhymes, sing the songs, tell
the stories, dance, and talk of the activities that they learn in their schools.
· Movement: They should be able to
brush their teeth; quickly run; jump; climb the stairs; play with balls; fall
down and get up; walk in any direction-forward and backward; Use spoons while
eating; change dress on their own; enjoy arranging blocks; can use tricycles
and not get tired easily.
Nutritional
diet
· Nutritional diet plays a vital role in maintaining the health of the
child. This requires parents’ involvement in planning such a diet for the
children that they enjoy and thus supplement their nutritional requirements as
well.
· The diet should comprise of three meals and two snacks in one
day. The meals should be a balanced mix of milk and milk products; grains;
fruits and vegetables; Eggs; properly cooked and less spicy meat (in case of
non-vegetarian diet). Their calorific requirement should be kept in mind while
planning for it. It should give them
sufficient proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, roughage, calcium, iron, and water.
· Exercise has to support nutrition. The thumb-rule is more
the activity, more the calories to be supplemented. One has to keep their
growth requirements in mind too.
· It is advised to keep away from the junk food items like ice
cream, soft drinks, chips, burgers, pizza, chocolates from them. These would
make them obese and unfit for regular activities.
· Parents should go for food experimentation to make it not only
more nutritious but yummier as well. So many sites are available on the
internet for this purpose.
· Children should be independent to take their food and not be
force-fed. Television viewing or fidgeting with mobile phones at the mealtime should be a strict NO-NO.
· Mealtime should be a happy family time too.
Physical Activity
Physical
activity will ensure the children’s fitness levels to maintain good health. It
can be planned in such a way that they do not get enough time to become
lethargic and bed-potatoes.
While
at their Pre-school, they undergo enough physical activity like playing; dancing; running; jumping; riding bi and tricycles; hopping and climbing the
stairs etc. They should be encouraged to continue these activities at home as well.
When they are lying down, they may be asked to read storybooks or listen to
them or do some sketching and coloring work or even watch some creative and
constructive television programs.
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