‘Children are unique, not copies of their parents’

Doctors emphasize the importance of balanced diet, good sleep, and physical activity in raising a healthy child.

There is no alternative to a balanced diet, good sleep, and physical activity in raising a happy, normal, and active child, doctors underlined at a webinar on ‘How to raise a healthy child’ in Vellore on Sunday (May 25, 2025).

The webinar, organised by The Hindu in collaboration with Naruvi Hospitals, Vellore, was the 11th edition in a series of 15 under the ‘Healthy India Happy India’ initiative to inspire and promote well-being.

Focussing on child health, and the development of newborns to adolescents, the panellists highlighted the importance of prioritising nutrition, monitoring growth and milestones in different age groups, and positive parenting skills to enable children to blossom into happy and confident youngsters.

Delivering a talk on maternal health and healthy newborns, Murugesan A., Assistant Professor in the Department of Neonatology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, said parents should make use of the Mother and Child Protection (MCP) card, and guidelines that are available online in local languages, free of cost.

He said 90% of all pregnancies in India were normal and uneventful, posing no problem to the mother and child, and therefore, all that parents and families needed to do was to stay healthy.

“The MCP card designed by the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, and Women and Child Development is a valuable but underused tool,” Dr. Murugesan said, adding, “It carries pictorial documentation of what needs to be done in each month of pregnancy and the newborn’s growth, detailing on vaccines and immunisation, breastfeeding and nutrition. Every family should utilise this resource.”

“Every child is unique and parents have an immense influence on their development,” Sonia Mary Kurian, head of the Department of Paediatrics at Naruvi Hospitals, Vellore, said. Stating that a child’s health was a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, she explained the necessity for introducing different food groups to a child after six months of exclusive breastfeeding.