Becoming a parent is a life-changing experience. After all, before having a child of your own, you basically only have to worry about yourself. But now the entire game has changed forever.

One thing that’s true about becoming a parent is that you now must ensure that your child grows up healthy. And you also need to be able to shield them from any dangers that they may face. But sometimes this can seem like an overwhelming task.

Studies have shown that around 12,000 children die each year from unintentional accidents in the United States. And unfortunately, a lot of these incidents could have been avoided. So if you want to keep your children as safe as possible, educating yourself on the many dangers that they face is of the utmost importance.

Keeping your children safe is one thing, but you’ll also want to keep your children healthy as they grow as well. In the following article, we’ll explore a few effective ways for you to ensure that your children are kept safe and in good health.

Proper Nutrition

Above all, your children’s nutrition is going to be the foundation for their overall health or lack thereof. And if you want your kids to be healthy, ensuring that they have access to nutritious meals is going to be your highest priority.

A few standards for proper nutrition to adhere to are as follows:

• Encourage fruits and vegetables as snacks
• Prepare meals high in protein for brain and muscle health
• Avoid sugary sweets
• Avoid sodas and sugary drinks
• Avoid caffeinated beverages
• Prepare meals with whole grains

Additionally, nutrition also begins in infancy. And if you’re unable to breastfeed, formulas are often a parent’s preferred choice for their newborn’s nutrition. However, you also need to be aware of formula containing cow’s milk, especially if your child was born prematurely.

For example, a condition known as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a life-threatening intestinal affliction that can be extremely harmful or fatal if developed. As such, new mothers of premature children should be aware of the danger of cow’s milk formula before giving their newborns any formula made with cow’s milk.

Proper Exercise

All children (and adults) need to be active to maintain proper health. And if your children are constantly indoors living a sedentary lifestyle, the chances that they’ll develop health issues can increase tremendously.

The truth is, being outdoors allows your children exposure to ample sunlight which is required for proper Vitamin D intake as well as for being able to run around, explore their world, and play with other children. In fact, being outside also helps regulate mood, and it will have your children naturally tired at the end of the day. And this will benefit you at bedtime.

It’s recommended by most pediatricians that children get at least an hour of outdoor playtime each day, as long as the weather is cooperative. As such, you don’t want your kids outside during a heatwave, or outdoors for too long in the sun without proper skin protection.

It's also best to complement regular exercise with routine doctor visits. According to the best dentist in Wayne NJ, your child should be checked up by a physician once a year, and twice a year for dentists.

Safety Concerns

It should be obvious that there are far too many safety concerns that most parents worry about on a daily basis, but perhaps the most important involve the physical safety of your children.

Bullying

Bullying comes in many forms in 2022. Not only will you likely have to deal with neighborhood bullies and school bullying, but online bullying has also become a trend. As such, it’s important to teach your kids Internet safety and to monitor their time online as well.

Additionally, if your child is being bullied severely, seeking help from the proper authorities is your best course of action.

Personal Safety Awareness

Though we live in a day and age where there are cameras everywhere, children still get abducted even within the same vicinity as their parents. Brazen kidnappers are a real threat, and this is why you need to teach your children to be vigilant and how to be safe around other adults.

You want your children to feel independent and allow them to explore their world. But teaching them simple rules such as being aware of who they’re around and of not talking to strangers should be of the utmost priority.

We all want our kids to be safe. And only by educating yourself and implementing safety practices will you be able to ensure your children’s safety and allow them the ability to grow up in a safe and healthy environment.