A Good Start For A Healthy Child

Children see, children do. A healthy lifestyle starts with the parents who should set a good example for their children.

Here are some tips for healthy living that you can give your child.

Eat Well

Be the role model for a balanced diet. You want the best for your kid including the best nutrients. What better way than to incorporate these into the daily diet? Moderate your own consumption of snacks and fast food.

Make time for a family meal and stick to a regular meal time.

Teach healthy eating habits to your kid. For example, educate on the food pyramid and monitor that kids do not over eat. Use grocery shopping time together to talk about the different food groups - rice and bread; vegetables; fruits and meat. Point out that processed food tend to have more sugar, oil and salt.


Stay Active

Make the effort to exercise regularly. Exercise and sports are also a great time for family bonding. Plan for outdoor time. That means, parents, you need to tear yourself away from the TV and computers. Hand off the mobile devices too.

Stay Away from Harmful Substances

Do not smoke in the presence of children. It is proven that nicotine and other harmful substances from cigarette smoke will linger on the surfaces of surrounding objects for days. So once you lit up, your child will be exposed to all the adverse effects of second hand smoke even when you are not smoking.

Children of smokers are more likely to take up smoking as teens and adults.  A 2009 survey of youth smokers showed that 50 percent of them had at least one parent who smoked. Moderate your intake of alcohol as well. Your child is watching. If you choose to drink, avoid doing so in front of your kid. If you persists in your smoking and drinking habits, what message are you sending to your child?

Manage Your Stress Properly

Some people use smoking and drinking as a mean to relieve stress. There are many positive ways of relieving stress. Exercise and mediation have been shown to be effective. So are creative activities like writing and baking. Find a good outlet for your stress.

Preventing Heart Disease: Information for Parent

Parents, you need to take good care of yourself in order to be able to look after your children. Heart disease is one of the biggest health risk for parent. It can lead to heart attack, stroke or simply a lower quality of life. The good news is that heart disease is preventable. Many experts acknowledge that some risk factors such as gender, genetics and aging are not controllable. However, those factors that can be controlled, can make the difference in heart disease prevention.


Preventing heart disease is simply a matter of changing one's lifestyle and diet. It is a combination of actions to keep healthy, avoid obesity, maintaining normal blood pressure as well as blood sugar level. The latter two are major risk factors for heart disease. So if you are suffering from hypertension or diabetes, you would also need to tackle this problem in order to prevent heart disease. You should stick to a proper diet and your medications if prescribed by a doctor.

The main watch area for many parents is obesity. Obesity must be combat in order to avoid heart disease, even for your children. Combating obesity must be complemented by a proper diet for proper nutrition. A proper diet should include consuming adequate fruits, vegetables and natural fibres.

Dietary supplements, which contain antioxidants, vitamin B and folic acid, can help to maintain a good healthy heart. Try mangosteen puree as a diet supplement. It is rich in antioxidants, vitamin B and folic acid. Antioxidants destroy free radicals thereby preventing damage to cells, which can cause arteriosclerotic heart disease. Vitamin B and folic acid help keep homocysteine low. A high homocysteine level contribute to the casual of arteriosclerotic heart disease.

Heart disease prevention is possible and easy. By maintaining the right lifestyle and diet, you are enhancing your good protection against heart disease.



Severe HFMD Cases

Lately, there was a reported rise in the number of severe HFMD (Hand Foot Mouth Disease) caused by the Enterovirus (EV71). The increase in the circulation of Enterovirus 71 (EV71) among HFMD patients was reported in many country around the world. While HFMD is generally a mild and self-limiting childhood disease, those caused by EV71 are usually more severe in nature and can lead to complications and even death. Countries such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, have recently experienced HFMD outbreaks caused by EV71.

It is important to maintain high standards of personal and environmental hygiene to minimise the risk of HFMD. Parents should ensure that their children adopt proper hygiene practices such as washing of hands with soap before eating and after going to the toilet; covering mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Throw the tissue away after use immediately. Do not allow children to share eating utensils. Parents should also ensure that their children's toys that can be contaminated by nasal or oral secretions are cleaned regularly.

Advice For Parent on HFMD

HFMD or Hand Foot and Mouth Disease in young children is problematic as they are ill-prepared to cope with the symptoms. Parents are advised to consult a doctor early if they suspect that their child has symptoms of HFMD. They should also be on the alert to any change in their child's behaviour, such as irritation and sleepiness. Should a child refuse to eat or drink properly, start having persistent vomiting or is drowsiness, the parents should bring their child to the nearest hospital.

Prevention of HFMD

When there is a serious outbreak of HFMD, as far as possible, parents should consider keeping their children away from crowded public places. If the child show signs of infection, parents should keep the child away from schools, play groups and other public places in public transport. Family members should be advised to follow good hygiene practices, including frequent hand washing, to limit the spread of the infection in the household.