4 Lifestyle Choices Parents Make That Harm Their Children’s Health

Part of a parent’s responsibility is to teach their kids how to lead healthy lives. To help children develop habits that will last a lifetime, an active, healthy lifestyle must start early in life.

Since young kids can’t decide on their own yet, parents make most of the decisions for them. However, not all these choices are beneficial for their children. In fact, one Malaysian doctor revealed that some of the lifestyle choices parents can be harmful to their children’s health. Here are four of them.

1. Not vaccinating their kids.

Dr. Khiddir, a medical practitioner, based in Kuala Selangor, said:

“Misinformation on vaccines are irresponsible action by anti-vaxxers who unfortunately have a growing influence in our local communities.

If this vaccine rejection trend continues, this is a likelihood that infectious diseases that could be prevented by vaccines will continue to increase and all efforts by the MOH (Ministry of Health) will be futile.”

2. Bringing their kids out late in the evening.

Dr. Khiddir shares four points as to why a crowded and noisy place is not where their kids should be: it exposes them to secondhand smoking, they could get infectious diseases, it’s a bad example for them, and it will disrupt their sleep schedule.

3. Allowing their children to use smartphones and tablets without limit.

There are three main negative effects of this common habit: it is a health hazard as kids will experience sleep disturbance, restlessness, and fatigue. Being addicted to smartphones and tablets will also affect their academic performance. Being on their gadget for a long time, without parents knowledge most of the time, there is a high chance that they will be exposed to inappropriate content.

4. Not organizing a solid and healthy eating regimen for their kids.

Parents usually reward their kids with candies and snacks. However, Dr. Khiddir said that this should be stopped. This practice is not only unhealthy for them as children, but this could also affect their health and behavior in the future when they’re older.