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Parents have many responsibilities when raising their children, but chief among them all is ensuring their children are safe and as healthy as possible. This can feel like a full-time job, because of the focus and pressure to get it right. Some issues can come without warning.

For example, some children might learn how to talk and construct sentences at a different time compared to their peers. This could denote a hearing issue, a potential neurological condition like autism or it might just be that they have slower-than-average development rates compared to their peers.

As such, trying to be observant without making judgements over every little issue is important. For this reason, we thought it would be prudent to discuss how to keep careful watch over the health of your child.

Sleep Quality & Habits

It’s good to keep watch over the sleep habits of your child, especially as they move past their early years where sleep routines can be a little infrequent, or babies can wake up multiple times a night. If your child is suffering from poor sleep at night, is very tired in the morning, feels fatigued often or has a real hard time waking up, then it’s worth considering the habits they keep.

Are they staying up at night? Can they stay asleep easily? You can use sleep monitors to get this data, and work with a sleep doctor and their pediatrician to see if you can identify issues. Often, sleep issues can bleed into many other health issues or behavioral problems, which is why this can be such an important measure to consider.

Consistent Diet

It’s good to be observant of your child’s diet. It might be that they have certain allergies or sensitivities that you’re not aware of, but can become aware of by how they react to certain foods. 

For instance, if your child struggles to digest dairy products they may be lactose intolerant. This can present itself as digestive issues, nausea and sometimes even vomiting, cramps, and a difficulty gaining weight. 

Moreover, certain allergies, like nut or seafood allergies, mean you may have to change your shopping habits to ensure you don’t expose them to certain foods that aren’t helpful or healthy. You can view more information about allergies within this linked resource.

Observe Their Behaviors

It’s also important to observe certain behaviors in your child, particularly if they change. It might be that your usually happy-go-lucky, energetic child becomes very withdrawn after a school day, or seems to have difficulty going in the morning. Unfortunately, this could point to some form of mistreatment or bullying by their peers.

It’s important not to read too much into every situation and throw assumptions at everything that happens, but if you do notice issues that seem out of character, it can be healthy to investigate that. As children grow they do tend to change and pick up different character traits, how much of that is an internal expression of personality or a response to stimulus, child psychologists may spend their time figuring out.

However, many parents with the ability to pay attention often feel when something is wrong. If you do, then taking proactive steps to resolve that issue can be important.  Indeed, some behaviors can even be worrying, and for a medical reason. Keeping an eye out for signs of Auditory Processing Disorder is something to do at a young age, as your child might not even realize they don’t have a ‘normal’ level of hearing. A big part of this is:

Encourage Healthy Communication

Encouraging a trustworthy house where children feel as though they can open up to you is no small achievement, but it is necessary.

Here you might find out that your child is stressed because of their parent’s fraught relationship, or that a teacher seems to pick on them at school or that they feel very tired during the day and they’re not sure why.

Healthy communication helps you notice issues and discuss them more easily. It also helps you consider your child’s point of view, which while immature, is often a good indication into how they think at least. This also has the benefit of helping them express themselves through words rather than misbehavior, which is a fantastic life skill to learn.

While you ultimately often know better than your young child, it’s essential to have that discussion. This way, an issue that might not have seemed so pressing can reveal itself before you would have determined its presence.

With these tips, you’re sure to keep careful watch over the health of your child, in the best possible way.

Get Help From The Right Professionals 
At some point, you may need some support in taking care of your children. The good thing is that there are a lot of people out there who are dedicated to helping kids. Whether it’s a case of dealing with their current mental stability or regarding their education, there are many establishments and experts out there. For instance, those at the Alpine Academy Utah can step in and help them through their younger years — if you are nearby, of course. There are many other such examples of these initiatives around your area, too. This kind of investment would be completely worth it as they would get the assistance they need and it could set their future at properly.

Introduce Them to God

Introducing your children to God and encouraging them to go to church at a young age will make them feel more guided and not alone. We stumbled across Living Church of God reviews online and so far, their belief system and practices might be something to consider.