We all want to raise healthy children, but sifting through a mountain of health information to find the key facts every parent needs to know is hard work. We’ve made it easy for you by asking a panel of leading health professionals to summarise their key tips.

The doctor

Parents generally have a good idea about whether their child is unwell. If you think your child is sick, get her checked out. Trust your instincts and if your doctor can’t find anything wrong, don’t be afraid to go back the next day if she doesn’t show any improvement.

The Healthy Kids Check is a free government-sponsored health check for children at age four (usually done in conjunction with their immunisation). Your GP or a practice nurse will do a head-to-toe preventative health check monitoring growth, hearing, eyesight, oral health, toileting, allergies and any other issues before she starts school.

As a rough rule of thumb, children under the age of five who go to daycare will get about eight viruses a year. Kids at home may get less, depending on how much they interact with other kids.

Children react differently to the same virus – some will just get a sniffle, while others will be laid flat. While you don’t want to go to the doctor too early, don’t wait too long either. Kids can go downhill with illness very fast, so always keep an eye on your child if you think she is a bit under the weather.

Health & fitness experts

Motivate your child to be active from a young age by getting her outside and teaching her different sports and games. If your budget allows, there are sports, dancing and gymnastics classes for young kids, or you can just take her to the local pool or playground.

Avoid regularly giving your child fast food or take-away meals. Healthy home-cooked meals with fresh fruit and vegetables are far better for her health – and your wallet.

Try to have healthy snack foods ready to go each day. Choose foods your child enjoys eating but that are still healthy, like fruit, popcorn, cucumber/celery/carrot sticks with cheese dip, rice crackers, Vita Brits with Vegemite and cheese, sandwiches or wraps with chicken, tuna, ham and/or salad.

Give your child a water bottle with her favourite characters on it and encourage her to access it whenever she wants. Soft drinks, juice and cordial should be reserved for parties or a ‘sometimes’ treat, not for every day.

Be your child’s active role model.

Get off the park bench and play with her at the playground. Adults can often climb up some of the sturdier climbing frames, or swing alongside their child – kids always love it when their parents play games with them.

The psychologist
Try to make sure that ‘free time’ is family time, not screen time. Figure out some activities the whole family can do, such as cooking together, playing board games or backyard cricket.

A regular family meal at a table, with no TV and everyone talking together is also really important. This can be breakfast if you have a baby or infant.

Help your child express her feelings. When she has a tantrum or gets really emotional, talk her through the event and untangle all the feelings she had and why she might have felt that way.

Help to reduce your child’s anxiety about an event by explaining what is going to happen beforehand.

The sleep expert

Try to tune into your child’s sleep cues. The earlier you can react to her signals, the better. Take note of those subtle early signals and as soon as you see them, start winding down play to prepare for sleep time. You’ll find it’s much easier to move her into her cot or bed when she is tired, rather than overtired.

As your child grows older her tired signs will change, so take the time to identify her individual signals and then watch for different cues as she gets older.

A pre-bedtime routine seems to be a core factor in successfully getting children to sleep without fuss. Start one as early as possible and stick to it as much as you can. Bath time and story time are common signals parents use to indicate it’s time to prepare for sleep. Don’t miss the opportunity to provide your child with a routine and pattern that will help her develop good sleeping habits.

The dentist
Keep an eye on teeth
Parents should brush their child’s teeth for about two minutes each night until they are between five and eight years old. Brushing should then be supervised until around age ten. Toddlers often like to brush their own teeth – let them brush AFTER parent brushing.

Healthy bottle rules

Babies should switch from a bottle to a cup by the age of one. From this age on, try to avoid letting her drink a bottle of milk in bed before she goes to sleep as it risks long-term tooth decay. It’s better to brush her teeth after her night-time bottle or offer plain water just before bed. Don’t ever put sweetened drinks in a bottle.

Eating well for healthy teeth

Snacking all day is bad news for teeth. Most preschools and daycare centres limit kids to three meals a day, plus a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. This is an ideal regimen.

Drinking rules for teeth

Children should drink water between meals. Any flavoured drinks should be taken at the same time as food. While it can be beneficial to finish a meal with cheese, rinsing with water is a better option and more effective.

Thanks to our panel of experts...

• DENTIST: Dr Philippa Sawyer, specialist paediatric dentist
• GP: Dr Minh Nguyen, post-grad diploma in child health (DCH).
• CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST: Kimberley O’Brien, Quirky Kid Clinic
• PERSONAL TRAINING and children’s fitness experts: Richard and Joey Marc, authors of Please Mum Don’t Supersize Me!
• SLEEP EXPERT: Deborah Nemeth, Director of Clinical Services, Karitane