Causes And Prevention Of Child Obesity
These days you rarely come across children who like to expend their energy by going out and play. Mothers are also not in a habit of keeping them home, away from the play fields thinking they would end up getting afflicted by some sort of infections due to their contact with the grass and mud. Each time their children slip and fall on the road outside their house, they run to wash their wounds thinking that if they come in contact with all the grime and dirt they might just end up infecting themselves. Protecting kids by keeping them home is one of the major reasons amounting to obesity in them.

Inculcating the right and healthy food habits is very necessary in keeping your children mentally and physically fit. As a parent you should make it a point to give your child nutritious diet so that his immune system also become better with age, failing all chances of getting fat and flabby.

Exercise should be a part of your child’s routine so that he remains in perfect shape always. For this make sure you have a similar habit so that it doesn’t become difficult for you to push your children to do the same. Regular workout or games keep everyone mentally and physically sturdy. Many times children do not like to go out and play like what used to happen in the past causing them to get afflicted with a whole lot of diseases over a period of time.

Do not allow your children to only stick to the television all the time. Make sure you also don’t let them sit glued to the computer all day long. Let them follow a healthy routine and keep themselves fit and fine.

The very idea of staying healthy all the time will help you keep your children in good shape too. It is imperative to inculcate sound eating habits in your children from the very beginning. Keep them away from the junk food and fast food, which is liked by the generation now because it lacks nutrition and only helps in gaining weight with superfluous calories and nothing other than that.

There is an old saying that, what you eat always reflects on your face and in your actions, so eat well and give your children good food too so that they lead a healthier life ahead and don’t get stifled in the clutches of illnesses like obesity.

Childhood Diabetes Signs And Symptoms
Diabetes affects only a small percentage of children but it is a serious disease which can affect the whole life of the child. Care should be taken when the first symptoms are observed and for this to be effective, parents should educate themselves on various diseases. This is to some extent hereditary and is communicated from parents to children. Parents with diabetes should be extra careful. It is essential for all parents to properly understand the disease and should be aware of the symptoms and remedies. When there is a doubt consulting a pediatrician is a must.

Diabetes results in increase in level of glucose in blood or urine. This is due to improper functioning of the kidneys. One of the common indications of diabetes is frequent urination. As the level of glucose in blood increases, the kidneys tend to work faster to filter out excess glucose, resulting in frequent urge. The body tends to maintain the fluid level which is cause of excessive thirst, needing lot of water intake. If this process continues, it can cause damage not only to kidneys but to other organs.

Weight loss is another symptom of diabetes. The children suffering from this problem may have good appetite and enjoy healthy food, but are unable to maintain or increase weight and often lose weight. If you observe weight loss in your child without any reason, consult a doctor.

A child suffering from diabetes will feel tired and lifeless. He will not have energy to play with fellow children. The reason for this is that the body is not able to maintain proper metabolism, as such energy released is insufficient. Another important signal of diabetes is difficulty in healing of wounds. If your child gets injured or even has scratches on body they will not heal within the normal time required to heal such wounds in ordinary children. In girls there is an added symptom, if your daughter does not experience puberty at the right age, instead she develops yeast infection, be particular and consult the doctor.

Diabetes is not difficult to diagnose. The patient has to undergo blood and urine test both after having normal food and also when fasting. If the level of glucose is higher than recommended it is a cause of concern and needs care. In early stages medicine can limit and manage the disease but total eradication of this problem may be difficult. Medicines have been developed which can be consumed without much side effects. Also invest in good stout shoes to prevent injury to toes and impress on the child to play safely as wounds are difficult to heal.

How Parents Should Motivate Overweight Child?
With a commercial motive, soda drink manufacturers and fast food joints are indulging in heavy advertisement campaign, attracting people of all ages towards them. The items of fast food and soda drinks contain a lot of sugar and are rich in fat. These are added to make them tasty. After a few trials, an individual gets addicted and has craving for these items.

Regular intake of these items, associated with sedentary life, results in obesity or problem of being overweight, especially in children. This has become an epidemic in the developed world and governments are taking tough measures to prevent spread of obesity. Children suffering from obesity often develop inferiority complex and are unable to compete with normal children.

Parents have to play an important role in motivating the children to lose weight and to be fit and healthy throughout life. For motivation, first and foremost requirement is counseling the child. The parents should explain in detail and repeatedly the ill effects of being overweight, and consequences the child will have to face as he grows up. The child should be told of diseases he can contact as he grows up.

When it comes to weight reduction the first idea that comes to the mind of the child and parents is reducing diet or starving. This is not proper as it will effect development of both the brain and body of the child.

To motivate the child, the first thing is helping the child increase physical activity. The parents should accompany the child to play some game with him. The parents and the child should go out together for cycling or jogging or take long walks together. If some games academy is available nearby the child should be admitted there and should be encouraged to play with other children.

In addition to exercise it is important to motivate the child to change food habits. If the family is in the habit of going out for food quite often, this should be cut down drastically. The food should be prepared at home. It should be such that it is rich in vitamins necessary for building healthy body and also is fibre rich. Fibre helps to give a feeling of satiety. The whole family should eat maximum quantity of vegetables and meat cooked in least possible quantity of fat. At least twice a week the family should eat fresh fruits and vegetable salads for dinner. This may be supplemented with boiled or smoked meat.

Once, by your motivation, the weight reduction process starts and the child loses the first few pounds, the stage is set for further and intensive motivation. The child will get encouragement from loss of weight, and your counseling, and soon things will start turning normal.

Remember this is a long process and your help and motivation will be needed for a long time till the child gets self-cautious

What Is Juvenile Or Type 1 Diabetes ?
It is the desire of all parents that their children should be healthy and lead a long normal life. However with changing food habits and easy lifestyle being followed by all humans, there is a tendency to become disease prone

A study has shown that quite a few juveniles suffer from diabetes. The diabetes of children is called Type 1 Diabetes or Juvenile Diabetes. With passage of time the incidence of juvenile diabetes in kids is increasing.

Though the causes behind juvenile diabetes are not yet confirm still, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition which occurs when immune system of body attacks wrongly to the insulin producing cells of pancreas.

The moment the parents come to know that their child is diabetic they gets distressed, but they should remember that though this is not a curable disease, by proper monitoring, restraints and medication the patient can lead an almost normal life. However, in the absence of control on food and lack of regulated medication the child is going to face the consequences when grown up.

The adverse medical effects which a person is likely to face from juvenile diabetes can include the following:

In a diabetic person the level of glucose in the blood increases. Kidneys act as filter of the body and remove excess unwanted constituents of blood. These are discarded by the body through urine. In case of excess glucose in blood the kidneys have to work overtime or excessively to clear glucose to maintain the desired sugar level. This excessive working leads to kidney failure and the consequences of this are known to all. This may require kidney replacement or dialysis for cleaning of blood.

Excess sugar in blood also affects the eyesight of a person. Slowly the eyesight gets reduced and ultimately, during later part of life, the person suffering from uncontrolled diabetes can get blind. Likewise is the effect on heart. Diabetics are more prone to getting heart attack. Diabetes also affects the life expectancy. If diabetes is not controlled from the juvenile stage, the life expectancy can be reduced by about 10 years. Worst of all, healing of wounds of those suffering from diabetes is quite difficult. In case of an accident, the patient may bleed to death. Surgery if needed to be done has to be undertaken with a lot of caution.

To ensure that juvenile diabetes is under control, the moment it is detected the parents should immediately draw up a detailed plan for the patient in consultation with the doctors. The plan should include, monitoring of glucose levels, medication schedule, diet plan of the patient, and exercise schedule.

If this is properly followed the child will be able to lead a normal life and as he will grow up he will be cautious about his health himself.

How To Help An Overweight Child ?
Nowadays weight problems abound and it has taken the form of an epidemic. Parents should be careful from childhood that their child does not become obese. In some cases parents first pile up the plate of their child and then insist that he finish all of it. In other cases a sedentary life style, coupled with unhealthy food comprising of fried and rich stuff, is the culprit.

Many parents mistakenly think that plumpness is a sign of health and it means that the child is being well looked after and fed properly. Others feel that chubby children look appealing and cute and that is the way they should be.  According to them any excess fat will simply melt away when the child grows up. Be assured this does not happen and a lot of effort and heartburn goes into losing this fat.

For a conscientious parent the question arises as how to determine whether the child is overweight and requires remedial measures. The best option would be to consult a doctor and he will tell you what the ideal weight for that age group is. Weight can vary for different heights, body types and gender so these factors have to be taken into consideration. Keeping all these factors in mind a medical practitioner will use a BMI calculator which stands for Body Mass Index. He will also be able to tell you if your child has a risk to become overweight in later life. If the parents are already on the heavier side then the child is all the more likely to be like them as it is a gene linked tendency.

This is necessary as excess weight is the root cause of many diseases like high blood pressure, heart trouble etc. The child will spend his adult life fighting health problems and consuming medicines. Also an obese child faces ridicule and taunts from his playmates resulting in low self-esteem. He is unable to run around and gets tired easily and loses out on fun and games so essential for socializing and his health gets more compromised.

Instead of thinking that “my child is overweight”, once you are aware of the true state of affairs, then you should not lose any time in helping your child in adopting a healthy lifestyle. The beginning will have to be made by you by setting a good example. If you spend your time in front of the television then your child will follow suit. Try to get off the couch and head for the outdoors to play games with your child to give him much needed exercise and you will also benefit from it. Replace fries and soft drinks with healthier options like fruit. Plenty of books are available detailing healthy snacking and meal options so go ahead and use those for the sake of your child.

Critical Development Periods Of a Child
Children grow, develop and mature as they grow up in age. Growth phase begins with the conception of the child and continues throughout the life time. Generally, the changes occurring due to growth are more visible till the end of adolescence. Therefore its termed as the critical period of development. Here are the different phase of growth and the predominant characteristics of each of them.

Prenatal Period (From conception to birth)
This lasts for about 10 months. This the fastest growth period a single cell changes to an organism and the brain and behavioral attributes come about.

Infant (From birth to 24 months)
This is phase in which the child is totally dependent on the adults. Lots of psychological changes take place like learning of language, symbols, gross and fine motor skills begin to develop, socializing etc.

Childhood (from 24 months to 11 years)
This can be categorized into early childhood and middle & late childhood.

Early Childhood (From 24 months to 5/6 years)
During these preschool years children spend most part of the day playing. They become learn to be independent and take care of their needs to certain extent and prepare themselves for the school such as identifying letters, following instructions etc.

Middle and late childhood (6/7 to 11 years)
During these elementary school years children learn the basic skills of life like reading, writing, arithmetic etc. They get to taste a little of the real world and its norms. Their activities would be centered on achieving their goals coupled with increase in self-control.

Adolescence (10/11 to 18/20 years)
This is period where major changes take place where kids start growing up to be adults. This period is marked by physical changes like increase in height, weight, change in body shape and structure, development of sexual characteristics like breasts size becomes larger, pubic and facial hair begin to grow, voice start to break. A typical characteristic of an adolescent is to get away from the family and spend more time in the company of friends and peers. They start to assert their need for independence and identity. They start to think more logically although it would be very theoretical and optimistic.

As per books, the development ends with adolescence but it’s not the reality and it continues throughout the life time of a person.