Healthy, beautiful children with good character can only become ideal citizens of country. A child with good conduct can prove to be a good citizen. But, generally it has been seen that parents are unable to give proper and required attention to their children due to lack of time, or simply due to ignorance.
In such condition, it is the duty of every parent to pay attention to the child, keep a watch on the child’s activities, friend circle, diet and see if their growth is taking place in the right direction or not. In this article, we would focus our attention on a few major points pertaining to growth of children. They are exercise or play, breakfast, food, rest, study, entertainment and traveling.
1. Exercise:
The first and foremost necessity for the proper health and strength of children is regular exercise. They should be taught Yog, different sports and pranayam. The morning or evening time is suitable for this purpose. These timings should be utilized for their physical growth. It is said that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Therefore, facilitate the child to learn different sports and exercise under the guidance of a qualified person. Exercise and sports improves the blood circulation and purifies the blood. It also improves the digestion process and makes the brain healthy and strong. The best time for exercise is half an hour before meals or two and half hours after meals. Do not drink water immediately after meals. Bath should be taken after 30 or 45 minutes after exercise. Fix a suitable time for exercise and try to do it regularly without fail.
2. Breakfast:
The breakfast given to children should contain vitamins, proteins, mineral salts, calcium and carbohydrates in sufficient quantity. Milk, butter, fruits, green sprouts, gram, kidney bean, groundnuts, jaggery, food made with wheat are ideal choices for breakfast. Only fresh food should be given for breakfast or snacks. Stale or shelf food is harmful for health. Sweets should be avoided for breakfast or snacks. Similarly, spicy, hot and bitter food should be avoided as it causes burning sensation in stomach and gastric trouble, indigestion, stomachache, etc. Therefore, the breakfast or snacks should always be fresh, simple and balanced.
3. Meals:
Children should be given nutritious meals at a fixed time. Therefore, there should be a careful selection between rice, dal, green vegetables, clarified butter, milk, curd, salad, paranthas, chapattis etc. The child should be givenfood at a calm and nice place so that he or she eats the food happily. Let the child drink water in gulps in between the meals. Do not force the child to eat food when he or she is not hungry. Food taken at proper time prevents gastric trouble. But, the child should not remain hungry for long time also. Food taken at proper time improves digestion process and these points should be kept in mind at the time of eating food.
4. Rest time:
Rest and sleep are as important for a child as food and exercise. Rest is necessary for the proper digestion of the food. The children should be taught to go to bed early and wake up early in the morning. The best time to go to bed is 10 p.m and wake up at 5 a.m. The children should sleep for eight hours and they should follow a timetable for all their activities. Rest helps in regaining strength spent on exercise, sports, studying and other activities. Hence, rest also has special importance from the point of view of health.
5. Study:
Study is necessary for overall growth of the child. They should be made to study the books at proper time with concentration. The parents should make it a point to see that the children do not show laziness in reading, studying, going to school, do not make excuses. But at the same time, studying should not become boring as the child could lose interest altogether. The teachers and parents should make the studies interesting. Thechildren should not be punished rigorously and the study should always be balanced, so that they concentrate on it with full devotion.
6. Entertainment:
This is a must for the children. Generally, children use television, radio, mobile, computer, and magazines as a source of entertainment. These are good but parents should make sure that the child is using the right form of entertainment. This will help in the proper mental and physical growth in the right direction. Hence, importance should be given to healthy entertainment.
7. Traveling:
Children should be taken to different places of interest, tourist destinations for their propermental and physical growth. Traveling is a very healthy source of entertainment and at the same time the children gain knowledge during such visits. Nowadays, almost all the schools organize educational tours and excursions to various places. This helps in the all -round development of the children.
To conclude, children’s food, rest, entertainment, study etc. should be given proper attention for their allround development. Children are the future leaders and hence their health, happiness and disciplined conduct are necessary for our society and nation. Development of the children in a scientific and correct manner will make them healthy and strong.
