Ensuring your child’s well-being involves establishing and maintaining healthy routines as early in life as possible, but how do you know which habits to prioritize? Pediatrician Dr. Nicole Stoecken highlights her top five recommended habits to support healthy behaviors that set your child up for a healthy life.
Ensure Adequate Sleep
We know the feeling all too well of waking up in the morning after not getting a good night’s sleep. The quality of our day is greatly influenced by the sleep we get each night, which is especially true for infants, children, and adolescents. Adequate sleep is crucial for emotional regulation, focus and stamina for physical activity.
How much sleep does my child need?
The amount of sleep is dependent on age. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the following:
- Infants (4-12months) - 12-16 hours/day
- Children (1-2 years) - 11-14 hours/day
- Children (3-5 years) - 10-13 hours/day
- Children (6-12 years) - 9-12 hours/day
- Teenagers - 8+ hours/day
“Sleep cycles are best regulated when regular bedtime routines are maintained, consistent safe sleep environments are utilized, and there are minimal disruptions to the sleep hours,” recommends Dr. Stoecken.
In addition, Dr. Stoecken recommends keeping toys and too many stuffed animals out of the bed, in addition to charging cell phones or smart watches in public spaces of the home, such as the kitchen or living room. Starting healthy sleep habits in infancy will aid in maintaining healthy sleep habits throughout your child’s life.
Encourage Healthy Eating Habits
We are what we eat! Though you might be dealing with a picky eater, children and adolescents should be consuming a well-rounded diet that contains food from the five main food groups: fruits, vegetables, protein, dairy and grains. Dietary fiber that comes from fruits, vegetables and whole grains is paramount to gut health and healthy stooling habits.
“Eating is very much a sensory activity,” says Dr. Stoecken, “allowing infants and toddlers to explore their food (even if very messy), can aid in willingness to intake a larger variety of textures and consistencies of food over time.”
My child is a picky eater. How do I encourage a balanced diet?
It’s important to remember that children are a product of their environment. Involving children in grocery shopping, meal preparation, and consistently scheduled family dinners are great ways to increase their willingness to try new things and be more involved in the healthy eating process. By filling your home with healthy foods and encouraging them to eat clean, they will likely carry these habits into adolescence and adulthood.
Early exposure to a variety of foods also helps to develop well-rounded plate that can persist into adulthood, but don’t be afraid to hide foods in places you may not expect, like fruit smoothies or blending vegetables into red pasta sauces.
Following your child’s first birthday, water should become the primary hydration source. Contrary to popular belief, milk should only be offered at meals and milk intake should be avoided during sleep hours. Sugary drinks, such as sugary juices, soda pops, or artificially sweetened beverages should also be avoided.
Keep Up with Physical Activity
On average, only 25% of children get enough physical daily activity, and the number is even lower for adults. You can set your child up for success by encouraging physical activity, even starting from day one:
- Infants - at least 30 minutes of tummy time or floor play daily.
- Preschoolers - at least three hours of supervised free play daily.
- Children 6+ years - at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily.
Like all people, kids benefit greatly from physical activity. Focusing on activities that promote socialization and fun, like outdoor play, family outings to parks or nature reserves, and simple activities like walking or climbing are an easy way to encourage family bonding while also encouraging physical activity.
It’s proven that children who are active early in life are more likely to continue to be physically active later in life. If your child participates in sports, focus on the aspect of socialization and the benefits of exercise, rather than on competition. Dr. Stoecken recommends that sports specialization be avoided prior to the later teenage years.
What are the benefits of physical activity?
The benefits of physical activity are multimodal, providing both physical and mental health benefits. The benefits of physical activity include:
- Maintenance of a healthy body weight.
- Avoidance of obesity.
- Support cardiovascular health.
- Decrease risk of diabetes.
- Build strong bones and muscles.
The mental health benefits of physical activity include:
- Better sleep.
- Improvement in focus.
- Boosts self-esteem.
- Strategy to dissipate stress.
- Improve teamwork and sportsmanship skills.
Support Emotional Wellbeing
Emotional regulation is a skill that takes practice to develop and perfect over infancy, childhood, adolescence, and even into adulthood. Aiding your child in practicing healthy coping mechanisms early in life will provide a foundation for improved emotional regulation and diminished stress levels later in life.
I'm stressed when my child is talking about stress!
When it comes to methods for managing stress, Dr. Stoecken has recommendations that vary by age group. In infancy and early toddlerhood, reading books about different emotions can help your child recognize the feelings they are experiencing. Working with preschool age children on skills such as deep breathing and counting when their emotions are building is an easy coping mechanism to enact in any environment. As children age, meditation, quiet walks, listening to music or journaling are excellent coping mechanisms to utilize when they are feeling overwhelmed.
“The fact is, stress is a daily part of all of our lives,” explains Dr. Stoecken. “Stress can be good or bad. How we cope with and manage our stress plays an important role in our overall mental wellbeing. Teaching early age-appropriate coping mechanisms is imperative for managing stress through the lifetime.”
Sometimes, your child may feel they need a safe space to talk about their emotions besides to a parent. This can be for a variety of reasons. Engaging with a counselor or therapist can be necessary to work on additional age-appropriate coping mechanisms. Identifying resources in your child’s school and community can be additional ways to support your child’s individual well-being and mental health.
Limit Screen Time
We all know screens are everywhere, from TV’s and cell phones, to tablets, computers and video game systems; They are ubiquitous in our day-to-day life. Given the prevalence of electronic devices in our society, children are exposed to screens at an early age. It is important for families to have agreed upon family rules regulating type of screen time exposure, frequency of screen time exposure and content of screen time exposure.
As parents, it’s important to recognize that your own screen time use can have a negative effect on your child,” Dr. Stoecken emphasizes. “We need to “practice what we preach” and turn off our own devices during agreed upon family times and engage with our children.”
How much time is too much screen time?
When it comes to screen time, Dr. Stoecken notes that:
- Infants younger than 18 months should not be exposed to any digital media, including TV.
- Children ages 2-5 should have less than 1 hour of screen time per day, with any exposure being through co-viewing with a parent. Their screen time should include only high-quality TV shows or interactive games designed for young children.
- Children over the age of 6 should be limited to 2 hours or less of screen time per day, with parents supervising the content viewed.
Screen time should also be stopped at least 1 hour prior to bedtime to encourage better sleep and allow for unwinding.
Helping your children to develop into the strongest, healthiest, and happiest versions of themselves starts at a young age. By incorporating these five strategies, you can support your child’s development and help them establish healthy routines that will benefit them throughout their lives.
For more information on healthy habits for your children, schedule an appointment with one of our board-certified pediatricians online or by calling 515.875.9000.
NicoleStoecken , DO
Nicole Stoecken, DO joined The Iowa Clinic in 2023 because of the high standards in providing the highest quality care. She admires the community involvement that TIC has, which is a priority for her, her patients, and the Grimes and surrounding communities.
Dr. Stoecken chose to practice community-based pediatrics because she loves the opportunity to build relationships with parents and build a partnership in the health and wellbeing of the child from the newborn stage through the transition into young adulthood. Having practiced general pediatrics for nearly the past decade, Dr. Stoecken has treasured the opportunity to care for families and children in the community where she lives and has chosen to raise her family.
The most rewarding part of being a pediatrician is the continued relationships she develops and loves the moments when a patient recognizes her outside of the clinic and excitedly shares their successes on recent exercise goals or healthy eating choices.
With the arrival of her fourth child, her life was unexpectedly changed when her child was diagnosed at birth with Down Syndrome. What she once feared has become one of the greatest blessings in her life. As a special needs mom, she has learned so many things about caring for a child with different health care needs, which has been an immeasurable addition in helping her patients and families navigate through their own healthcare journey.
Outside of work, Dr. Stoecken is active in a nonprofit organization in Des Moines – Gigi’s Playhouse --which provides services and support for individuals with Down Syndrome, as well as their families. She has greatly enjoyed participating in Gigi’s events in support of her daughter, as well as some of her patients. Together with her high school sweetheart, Andy, they have four children -- Emma, Blake, Brooks, and Josie, where they have resided in Grimes for many years. They enjoy spending their time boating at the lake, spending time with neighbors, traveling, or partaking in numerous sports, especially cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes. If she were not a provider, she might have been a zookeeper.