8 Summer Health Tips for Kids
Your kids are almost out of school and looking forward to the long, lazy days of summer. Keep them healthy and active with these tips from AGC Pediatrics.
1. Create Healthy Summer Meals
During the summer, it’s easy to get out of a regular routine with family meal times. Often, parents turn to fast food or meals in front of the TV. Be proactive this summer and stick to a loose meal schedule, using seasonal produce to create healthy meals for the entire family to enjoy together.
2. Limit Screen Time
Kids today have almost constant access to technology including phones, tablets, TV, video games and even DVD players in the car. When the summer sun heats up, it’s easy to stay inside and spend extra time playing video games or watching television. Try and limit your child’s screen time to one hour a day, encouraging them to go outside and play.
3. Plan Activities with Cooler Temperatures
It’s great for kids to play outside during the summer, but it’s important for them to stay safe and keep cool in the blazing temperatures. To help keep them active, take them to the pool, have a water balloon fight or take a trip to the lake. They’ll stay active and cool, while having a blast!
4. Use Sunscreen
UV rays are concentrated in the summer, even on overcast days. Keep sunscreen in your house and car to make sure your kids never go without. Remember to apply sunscreen about 20 minutes before you go out in the sun and reapply after excessive sweat or swimming.
5. Plan for Healthy Snacks
As you go from one fun activity to another this summer, make sure you have a host of healthy snacks by preparing them ahead of time. Put celery and carrots into Ziploc bags, bring frozen fruit in a cooler for a refreshing treat or pack to-go bags of homemade popcorn for a crunchy snack.
6. Plan Outings
As a parent, it’s tough to keep your children occupied during long summer days. Cut the boredom with planned family outings. Take a nature walk next to a river, go tubing, visit a museum or go swimming at a public pool.
7. Sign Up for A Sport
A great way to keep kids active in the summer is to sign up for a sport. Whether your kids join a baseball team or try their hand at cross country, they’ll have regular practices and games to keep them moving all summer.
8. Find Healthy Substitutes for Summer Foods
If your kids are used to sugary sports drinks and popsicles when they need to cool off, look for healthy and yummy alternatives like coconut water and homemade fruit popsicles. At family cookouts, try grilling veggie or bean burgers – they’re just as tasty as hamburgers, but have far more nutritional value.
Keep Your Kids Healthy for Summer with AGC Pediatrics
The team at AGC Pediatrics knows just how much you love your kids. That’s why we devote ourselves to keeping them healthy and safe. We serve the Cartersville, Acworth, Calhoun, Canton, Dalton, Jasper and Bartow areas in North Georgia by providing expert pediatric care.
Along with regular pediatric health and wellness care, we specialize in behavioral medicine, newborn car,e and asthma and allergy treatment.
Schedule your child’s summer well child exam today, call AGC Pediatrics at (706) 625-5900.
Along with regular pediatric health and wellness care, we specialize in behavioral medicine, newborn car,e and asthma and allergy treatment.
Schedule your child’s summer well child exam today, call AGC Pediatrics at (706) 625-5900.
