A lot of this probably relates to your baby in his or her older years but there are is a lot of useful informartion in here which is worth noting.

Children, of course, are far less likely than adults to be suffering from hidden cancers, or slowly caving in to dangerous lifestyle habits. But there is plenty you can do to test out whether they are growing healthily and happily.

Growing up and out

If a child is growing as they should it’s usually a sign that generally they are healthy. So what size should they be?

Your child’s weight and height need to be plotted regularly on what’s known as a centile chart. This compares their size to the normal range for their age. Get one from your health visitor if you haven’t already got one in your child’s health record book.

Measure your child and see how he or she compares to their previous records. Healthy growth should follow the same line on the graph. If they are small or large for their age its not necessarily a problem as long as it is consistent.

If their weight or height falls below their previous line, this suggests that they are not growing as they should be and you need to talk to your doctor. If their weight (or more unusually height) line rises more steeply than the normal line, then they may be putting on too much weight and again you need some expert advice.

Food Fads

The need to feed your child well is a deep parental instinct, but often surprisingly hard slog, with endless battles over too much fat and sugar - and not enough fresh fruit and veg.

Sit down in your kitchen and ask yourself honestly how many of these healthy eating habits you and your children follow?

regular meal times
sitting down to eat as a family
include at least 1 serving of fresh vegetables or a piece of fresh fruit at every meal
restrict in-between meal snacking
healthy snacks only: fresh or dried fruit, nuts (beware allergy), cereal bars, yoghurt, crunchy vegetables such as carrots
avoid sugary and fizzy drinks. Water and low sugar dinks are best.; and
never force your child to eat.

Immunisation

Are your children up to date with their vaccinations? Check with your health visitor if you’re not sure.

Gnashers fit for noshing

Children’s teeth are generally much healthier because of fluoride in toothpaste and tap water. But don’t make this an excuse for bad habits.

Make sure your child has had a recent check-up at the dentist and check the following tooth habits:

Brush at least twice a day with children’s low-fluoride toothpaste. Children under 10 will need help.
Start flossing from an early age

As far as possible cut out sugar from drinks and snacks.

Consider paying to have your child’s teeth painted with fissure sealants. This plastic coating seals up the tiny cracks in teeth where cavities begin.
Get a gum-shield fitted if your child does contact sports.

Weed out nasty pests

Almost every child has some little friendly creatures lurking on them every now and then, and I don’t mean the family moggie.

Headlice are at epidemic levels so make a weekly appointment with a fine comb to keep a look out for them. Worms are also common.

Keep a watch for symptoms, particularly an itchy bottom at night. Scabies can happen to the cleanest child - check in the webs between the fingers and toes for red winding burrows and rash.

The Happy Factor

Physical problems are usually fairly easy to spot but is your child psychologically and emotionally healthy?

As many as 1 in 5 children will have a significant problem with their mental health at some point. So how does your child score on the happy factor?

The following may sometimes be a sign that things aren’t right:
- Waking at night and sleep problems
- Excessive crying and temper tantrums
- Wetting the bed or becoming constipated
- Avoiding school or group activities
- inexplicable stomach aches or headaches
- changes to their usual behaviour
- becoming withdrawn or staying in their room for hours

Make sure your child has plenty opportunities to talk about their problems, with at least one 15 minute period a day when you sit down with them, talk and listen.

If you have serious worries about your child’s mental well being, talk to your doctor. You can also search via an excellent web resource, Mental Health Net, at www.mentalhelp.net