As a parent, you want the world for your children. The trouble is, the world as it is today is actually causing them a lot of issues. In today’s post, we’re going to explore a few of the things that parents with young children need to watch out for that could end up being incredibly damaging to your little one’s health. Let’s take a closer look at everything you need to know.
The Environment
According to research, environmental factors such as pollution are responsible for millions of kids all over the world suffering from illnesses and life-long conditions. It’s because of poor air quality that you probably know parents that need preventative medicine and access to telemedicine for asthma suffering kids, and might even know some children that have suffered from cancer at an early age. It’s not just air quality, either – pesticides, magnetic fields from power lines, gadgets in the home and even too much bright light at night time can all have an impact on your child’s health. Make sure you are eating healthily as a family, including washing all your fruit and vegetables properly before meal and snack times. Keep an eye on the air pollution rates in your town or city.
Diet & Exercise
Childhood obesity is still on the rise, despite being big news in the media and a lot of prevention work from healthcare organizations. And it’s not hard to understand why. Put simply, our children are eating way too much unhealthy food, and not exercising enough. Junk food is rife, cheap and advertised everywhere, while a combination of too much entertainment at home and risk-averse parents not allowing their kids to play outside is contributing to a lack of exercise. Given obesity can lead to horrendous health outcomes – such as heart disease and cancers – it’s vital that parents encourage healthy eating and lots of exercise from a very early age.
Technology
As we touched on above, too much tech can lead to inactivity. It’s important for parents to establish some kind of control over the use of cell phones and tablets, and try to persuade your little ones to take up healthier hobbies rather than spend their spare time on an iPad. You also need to be aware that the recent increase in what experts call ‘solitary pastimes’ could be damaging your child’s social skills, which could end up fueling feelings of loneliness. And if those feelings develop over time, it could have serious consequences for your child’s future. Make sure that your kids are still using traditional toys that require them to use their imaginations. And give them the opportunity to interact with others – at a nursery, or in a local sports club, for example.
Modern life has many, many benefits, of course. Your kids have so much at their fingertips, but it is essential to understand that too much of anything will eventually have an impact. Behavioral problems, health conditions, and mental health issues are all on the rise for young people in general. And it’s all down to you to encourage your child to live in a healthy way, with plenty of exercise, and an appreciation of the dangers of the modern world.
Pollution can be defined as the presence of contaminants in the environment either in the air, land or water ways. Quite a number of countries are faced with the challenge of effectively disposing refuse in such a way that pollution is reduced to the barest minimum. The fact that plastic shopping bags are a source of refuse accumulation is non-debateable. However, to label them as the major source of land and water pollution is quite drastic. The role of these bags cannot be over emphasized. They remain a vital, neat and presentable means of conveying items purchased from the point of sale to its final destination. Even at home these bags can be used for repackaging and storage. Disposal of the used plastic bags must be closely monitored to prevent pollution. This can be achieved by putting certain measures in place with regards to its disposal. Since they are non-biodegradeable, it is important that they are not just tossed into the environment after use as this would result in pollution . Rather, they can be disposed by incineration or better still they could be recycled. The Federal Government can also place a ban on indiscriminate disposal of these bags with a fine if defaulters are caught. This would deter inappropriate dumping of the bags in areas that could result in pollution. I strongly disagree that they are a major source of pollution because with the appropriate measures these bags can be effectively used and disposed without harm to the environment.