Looking after a child’s health is the primary duty of any mother, though there are some illnesses and afflictions that are beyond a parent’s control. However, there are some health tips and considerations that can be used by all mothers, wherever they may be in the world.

Common health problems for children

There are many health issues that affect children and which, fortunately, can either be cured or controlled through medication. Such afflictions include asthma, allergies and immune system-related ailments, as well disorders relating to sight, speech and hearing.

In regards to allergies, a mother will usually have to adopt a process of elimination. If a child seems to have an intolerance or reaction to food, for example, a mother will have to remove certain food products from the child’s diet, keeping a careful record of what has been eliminated, until the child ceases to have an adverse reaction and the cause can be identified.

An asthma attack can be a terrifying thing for a mother to witness, and while asthma cannot be cured, it can be treated. A child suspected of having asthma should be carefully monitored and their symptoms and duration written down so that a doctor will be able to prescribe suitable medication.

Some countries are more likely to have high incidences of child blindness and other disorders, just as some countries are more likely to have high incidences of obesity. Regrettably, cases of blindness and similar afflictions could be reduced were the country’s infrastructure better equipped medically, which is why some women who are also mothers are working in charitable organisations to raise awareness around such conditions. One such woman is Jennifer Atiku. She works with a Nigerian charity, the Gede Foundation, to raise awareness of endemic diseases in the region. You can read more in this article about Atiku Abubakar’s wife congratulated on her call to the Bar.

As with most things, the key to reducing illnesses in children can be linked to education. The mothers in some developing countries, for example, are unaware of the significant health benefits of breastfeeding their child. They do not know that their breast milk contains significant nutrients, nor that they pass on protection against disease to their child with breastfeeding. As a result, the mothers feed their babies on tea or sugar water and so, inadvertently, make the child vulnerable to disease.

Whilst exposure to childhood illnesses such as measles or chicken pox cannot be prevented altogether, there are steps a mother can take to make her child as generally healthy as possible. This can be helped by ensuring the child eats a healthy, balanced diet, consisting of a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, as well as protein provided by meat, and avoiding excessive consumption of fizzy drinks. Mothers should combine a healthy diet with plenty of activity, encouraging their child to play and move about rather than sit on a sofa all day.

Whilst some illnesses are unavoidable and are actually useful for their ability to strengthen the immune system, there are some precautions against illness that a mother can take to protect her child, including an understanding of the human body and its workings, a healthy diet and active play.