Mamabee

What Your Kids Need to Stay Happy and Healthy in 2022

With a new year, there are new, fun ways you can support your kids’ happiness and health. This guide breaks down what you need to know about how to keep your kids happy and healthy in 2022. Read on to learn more. 

The Importance of a Good Night’s Sleep 

If you’re the parent of a little one or are expecting to welcome a little one into your family soon, it’s important that they get sufficient sleep. Sleep is critical for cognitive development, physical development, immune health, strengthening the ability to learn, healthy weight gain, and overall physical growth. 

Your babies and kids need good sleep to stay healthy and grow. If your little ones are having trouble with sleep, here are a few tips to help them sleep happily and healthily in the new year:

  • Cultive a comfortable, cozy sleeping environment. Your little ones may be sensitive to light, noise, temperature, or a range of other factors. Creating a comfortable environment for them to sleep in can make a big difference. 
  • Cultivate a consistent nighttime routine. This is especially helpful for toddlers. By setting a strict bedtime, performing a nighttime routine, and making this a schedule, your little ones will get used to sleeping. For example, have a consistent routine of bathtime, feeding, cuddling, story time, and tucking in, and going to sleep. 
  • If your toddlers wake in the night, keep activity to a minimum. Redirect them to bed where they can lull themselves back to sleep. Soon, they’ll learn to go right back to sleep when they wake up. 
  • While some babies may sleep more during the day than they do at night, most infants and babies get sufficient sleep. That is until they reach the teething stage. There are many ways you can help your teething babies sleep better at night. Consider gum massages, teething toys, white noise, or a relaxing bath. Learn more here about how to soothe a teething baby at night
  • Understand that every baby is different. There is no one size fits all when it comes to babies and toddlers. Sleep training can take time, so don’t be too hard on yourself or your kids as you both learn the ropes.

Health at Your Fingertips

When you have little ones, taking care of your health and your kids’ health changes. You may not have as much time to yourself to schedule doctor’s appointments as you once did. Plus, having health at your fingertips, even when you’re mostly on the go, is an excellent way to take control of your own wellness and the health of your little ones this year. This is where vessel health comes in handy. 

What is vessel health? In short, vessel health is an online tool that helps you manage a range of facets concerning your wellness. This includes nutrition, medical concerns, immune health, mental health, and so much more. 

The app works with test strips that you can pee on, scan with your phone, and get instant results on your health recommendations about what you need to eat, do, and more. You’ll notice benefits for your sleep, energy, focus, physical wellness, and more. 

Nourishing Your Little One’s Body

It’s no secret that having little ones takes away much of your free time during the day. Even if you once had excess time to cook and prepare nourishing meals for you and your family, you may not anymore. Don’t worry! There are many ways you can benefit from healthy meal delivery so you can receive ready to eat, fully prepared meals designed with a custom plan that fits your family’s nutritional needs. 

There’s no commitment, you can pause anytime, and you can enjoy gluten-free diets, dairy-free diets, a diverse range of nutrients, superfoods and proteins, and so much more. Make your mealtime simple! Even your little kids will love the foods you have to offer.

It’s essential to expose your little ones to a wide range of new foods. However, if you have picky eaters, it can be frustrating to introduce new foods to their diet. Here are a few tips. 

  • Be patient with new foods. It can take over ten exposures to a new food before your child actually tries it. Even then, new textures, tastes, and sensations are hard to get used to. 
  • Stick to mealtime and snack time routine.
  • Let your child eat when they’re hungry and stop when they’re full. If your child is full, they won’t want to try a new food, even if they think it looks good. This is key to helping your little ones cultivate a healthy relationship with food, so always encourage them to listen to their bodies. 
  • Introduce new foods in a fun way! You can set a once a week “new food night” where you give your children options about which new food they’d like to try. Turn it into a game or add other fun aspects to mealtime. 
  • Minimize distractions while you’re eating as a family. 

Medicine Alternatives

When it comes to over-the-counter medication for little ones, many options are full of preservatives, artificial ingredients, and other harmful ingredients. When it comes to keeping your kids happy and healthy, finding relief that’s safe is important. Consider this kids claritin alternative made with diphenhydramine as an alternative to many over-the-counter allergy relief medicines!   

Healthy Play for the Mind and Body

Children love to play, but this activity goes beyond just having fun. Play is essential for allowing children to exercise creativity, imagination, learn physical activity, dexterity, and coordination, develop cognitive function and memory, and build emotional strength and connection. Play helps engage the brain and supports learning about cause and effect and how to interact with the world. 

Whether your kids are one, four, ten, or fifteen, play is essential! Here are a few fun ways you can encourage play in the new year to keep your kids happy and healthy:

  • During the warmer summer months, consider setting up a kids’ sprinkler for your little ones to play in. With tons of fun shapes to consider, your kids will enter more than just a sprinkler–they’ll access a whole new world of imagination. 
  • Kids love to get creative and play using whatever’s around them. From building forts to playing “the floor is lava”, there are tons of ways you can support healthy play without any toys. These convertible chairs can be turned into beanbags or act as beds. Plus, if your little ones have sleepovers often, these convenient chairs are the perfect beanbag and bed for their guests. 
  • There are tons of kids activities you can shop for, as well. Look for scooters, toys, puzzles, card games, art activities, and mind games for your little ones to enjoy. 

Help Your Kids Learn the Fun Way

Set your kids up for success in the new year by giving them access to all the books their hearts could want. Scholastic offers a range of books for early learners, little geniuses, and more. You’ll be able to find the perfect way to support happy, healthy readers in the new year. 

Getting Your Kids Into Music This Year

There are many benefits of exposing your kids to music. Whether your little one is a few months old or a few years old, they can benefit intellectually, cognitively, and emotionally from music. Consider The Sound of Vinyl as an excellent way to expose your kids to music this year. You can also consider getting instruments for the house for them to play with, or signing them up for music lessons.