Fall In Love with Your Heart
By Tara Liddle, PT, MA, DPT, PCS
February is HEART month! Let’s talk about heart health.
At MSM, we are all about health and wellness from infancy. Heart Health is crucial for a child’s overall well-being.
Ways to promote heart health:
Nutrition: Emphasize healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, grains, protein, and nutritious dairy products while limiting sugary snacks, juice, processed foods, and saturated fats
Being Active: Physical activity is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy body and prevent obesity. Encourage regular exercise based on CDC guidelines: preschoolers should be active throughout the day, and children ages 6 to 17 should have at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity daily, including vigorous activities and strengthening of muscles and bones three days a week. Free play is a great way to achieve recommended activity levels. Incorporating outdoor biking, running, swimming, and sports is ideal.
Limit Screen Time: Excessive screen time contributes to a sedentary lifestyle. Limiting screen time and encouraging outdoor play and other physical activities can promote heart health and well-being.
Healthy Lifestyle Habits: Focus on sleep, hydration, and stress management.
Hydration: Hydration is important to maintain body temperature and overall function. Dehydration can affect activity levels and motivation and can lead to medical issues. For infants, the best way to check for hydration is by monitoring wet diapers. According to the AAP, at least 5 to 6 wet diapers daily indicate hydration. Infants can begin water intake around six months of age. At 4 to 8 years, the recommendation is 5 cups of water. For ages 9 to 13, the advice is 5 to 6 cups of water; for ages 14 to 18, the recommendation is 6 to 8 cups.
Sleep: Sleep is vital for overall growth and development.
Mental Health: Decreasing stress in a child’s life and providing a safe, loving environment greatly decreases stress. There is support for children with mental disorders including, hyperactivity, behavioral issues, and anxiety.
Medical Care: Schedule regular check-ups for overall health assessment and prevention of risk factors.
Healthy lifestyles also include leading by example. Children learn from observing their parents and caregivers. Therefore, modeling healthy behaviors can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and improve overall quality of life.