Keeping children healthy is a full-time job. Local pediatric primary care and urgent care facility, Just Kids Pediatrics (JKP), makes this job a little easier by offering tips for making sure your kids have healthy daily habits.
With the popularity of Netflix, YouTube, and social media, the daily habits of today’s youth are much different than they were merely ten years ago. Rather than going outside to play, many children find joy in watching other kids play on YouTube instead. The viral growth of the hit sensation ‘Baby Shark’ currently has almost 3.5 million views and counting, serving as a testament to the number of hours children spend on devices. While channels such as YouTube and Netflix can be used for educational purposes, Just Kids Pediatrics suggests it’s important to monitor your children’s screen time — not only with parental guidelines of what their watching, but also how often.
Aside from monitoring screen time, it’s important to build a list of healthy habits that your children follow. Many parents have adopted this idea by creating a set daily routine. Here are some recommended healthy habits from the World Health Organization that Just Kids Pediatrics uses in their practice as a reference for giving tips on how parents can help their children live healthier lives:
Under one year old
- Screen time is not recommended
- At least thirty minutes of physical activity in a prone position (tummy time) each day
- 14-17 hours of quality sleep for infants under three months, 12-16 hours of quality sleep for children four to eleven months old
One to two years old
- Screen time is not recommended for one-year-olds and no more than one hour of sedentary screen time for two-year-olds
- At least three hours of physical activity each day
- 11-14 hours of quality sleep
Three to four years old
- No more than one hour of sedentary screen time each day
- At least three hours of physical activity each day, of which one hour should be moderate to vigorous
- 10-13 hours of quality sleep
Just Kids Pediatrics recommends that these daily habits be altered for every individual child to create a daily routine that suits them.
For more information and appointment scheduling, visit justkidspeds.com or one of their four locations in Moore, South OKC, North OKC, and Mustang (coming Winter 2019). You can also follow Just Kids Pediatrics on Facebook at justkidspeds to stay up-to-date. ok at justkidspeds to stay up-to-date.