As spring comes to a close and summer arrives in El Paso, many kids are enjoying their time away from the classroom. It’s a time for kids to let loose and not worry about the next test or a last-minute project, but it can also be a challenging time for parents as well.
Kids want to be social and active during the summer, but as a parent, you definitely don’t want to visit an urgent care center for an illness or injury. So how do you keep your kids healthy and happy during the summer? We give our very best tips in our blog here!
Get Outdoors If You Can
One crucial piece of advice for healthy kids is to get them some time outdoors or just outside the home. El Paso is full of things to do with your children to enjoy some fresh air and summer sunlight.
- Play sports together – You could play a little soccer at your local park or shoot some hoops at an outdoor court. Maybe you could even try playing a brand new sport with your little ones.
- Go for a nice walk or hike – Not in the mood for sports? Try walking along El Paso’s great walking paths to burn some calories. To turn it up a notch, you could take your children hiking in the Franklin Mountains or at the Lost Dog Trail as well.
- Explore outdoor events across El Paso – The summer is full of events across El Paso. Music festivals, 4th of July festivities, and other events draw crowds, food, and good times. Take the kids to meet new people and see new things while getting those steps in.
If you do plan on spending extended time outdoors, be sure to apply good sunscreen often throughout the day. Depending on the strength and type of sunscreen, you may need to reapply every 1 to 3 hours. Using sunscreen can reduce your child’s risk of skin problems in the short and long term.
Stuck Inside? No Problem!
Stuck inside on a rainy day or an exceptionally hot one? That shouldn’t stop you from making healthy, fun choices. You could keep their minds sharp with learning games, or keep them moving with indoor games. You could go virtual with VR or games like Just Dance, or go old school with games like Twister.
If you’re stumped for ideas for indoor fun, you could also watch this very helpful video from the CDC for inspiration.
Make Sure Their Diet Is Top Notch
Where many parents tend to slip up with children during the summer is with their diet. Whether from not having time to watch them or from wanting them to unwind fully, parents can end up letting kids’ diets plummet to very unhealthy levels.
Unless your child or children eat something they are allergic to, chances are that bad eating won’t send them to the emergency room. However, it could derail their eating habits and lead to unhealthy weight gain and inflammation. El Paso already has one of the highest percentages of people with diabetes among major cities, according to the El Paso Center for Diabetes.
You can keep your children’s nutrition high with the following tips:
- Try new foods if you can – Another great way to ensure good nutrition is to make it fun. Expose them to games centered on healthy eating or reward them for eating a certain amount of fruit or veggies. You can even involve them in preparing healthy meals.
- Use apps to track their eating – Nowadays, there are a myriad of apps designed to track eating habits. Use an app to monitor their eating and keep them involved with it.
- Teach them about their bodies – Finally, actually teaching kids about their bodies can help them make good choices. If they know how certain foods affect them in the short and long term, they can feel a sense of agency as they pick what they want to eat.
Remember That COVID Still Exists
Despite COVID-19 not getting as much press nowadays, it is still around and mutating across the U.S. In fact, it currently is at least partially responsible for labor shortages in many industries like the airline industry.
This doesn’t mean that you don’t have to shut your children indoors; it just means that you should take precautions to limit exposure. Masks, frequent hand-washing, and limiting exposure to those who may have COVID are all important. These precautions are especially important if you plan on being around large groups of people.
Nurture Their Emotional Well-Being
Lastly, try to monitor your children’s emotional and mental health. Our emotions and mental states can affect the health of kids and adults alike. One issue many parents struggle with is giving their kids agency and a sense of direction in their own lives. This can make kids disconnect mentally and make time at home miserable.
To guard against this, you can employ some simple techniques to keep them balanced and happy:
- Give them more responsibility as they age – This summer, you could try giving your kiddos more responsibility in the home to support them and keep them occupied. Maybe give them cooking and cleaning duties, or request their help for lawn care. Anything to make them more involved.
- Make sure they get enough sleep – A quality sleep schedule is something that tends to fall off after school ends, but it’s vital for their development. Make sure your children get at least 7-8 hours of sleep to grow and develop.
- Get active in the community – It’s proven that kids love feeling like their efforts matter to those around them. To foster this, look for community work to get into with your children. Food banks/drives, community cleaning efforts, communal gardening, and other things can be great for their self-esteem and sense of pride.
- Nurture their relationships – Lastly, support relationships with friends by taking them to see friends. This could be simply hanging out or an actual activity like sports or catching a movie. Staying in touch with friends can make a huge difference in their mental health.
Trust Our Team For Quality Pediatric Care!
There are countless ways to keep your kids and family healthy and happy this summer, but sometimes the fun comes to a halt because of illness or injury. That’s where the Paseo Nuevo Urgent Care team comes in. We offer El Paso’s finest pediatric care services to keep your children happy and healthy year-round.
To learn more about our services or to schedule an appointment, contact us today!
