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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.

“A mother can breastfeed a child up to two years age along with other weaning foods but if a child is bottle-fed longer, they don’t get enough nutrients from milk alone, and run the risk of becoming obese and getting blood pressure and diabetes later in life,” Dr. Kurian warned.

She advised parents to watch out for delayed milestones in their babies from two months to three years. These could include delayed walking and talking, lack of visual fixation and social smiles, no head control, lack of response to sounds and objects, and unintelligible speech and gestures.

V. Nagarajan, consultant paediatrician at Naruvi Hospitals, Vellore spoke about the cognitive, physical and psychological development in 10- to 19-year-olds.

He said anaemia, anxiety disorders, and overweight were commonly seen in the adolescence years, and it was for the parents to understand their child and provide a safe, loving and supporting environment to help them grow into independent and confident young people.

“There is a lack of awareness about adolescent health and a stigma to reach out for professional health,” Dr. Nagarajan pointed out.

“Adolescence is an age when they will be rebels. Parents themselves need to practice healthy habits and guide them by being role models to their children,” he said.

“Communicate and spend time with your children. Offer them real-world alternatives with meaningful learning,” Dr. Nagarajan said.