Care
The care of children serves as a fundamental component of pediatric healthcare and medical work. Younger children require more meticulous and appropriate care.
Living Environment
The living space should be well-lit with sunlight and properly ventilated. During winter, the indoor temperature should ideally reach 18–20°C, with humidity maintained at 55%–60%. For breastfeeding infants, room-sharing with the mother is often recommended to facilitate breastfeeding and overall care. Individuals who are ill should avoid entering a child’s living space, particularly the rooms of newborns and premature infants.
Clothing (Diapers)
Light-colored, soft, and pure cotton fabrics should be used for children’s clothing, ensuring they are loose-fitting with minimal seams to avoid skin irritation and facilitate dressing and undressing. Cabinets storing newborn clothing should not contain mothballs to prevent neonatal hemolysis. Clothing for newborns should be loose, allowing the legs to remain in a flexed position to support the development of the hip joints. Infants are often better suited to wear jumpsuits or overalls, avoiding elastic-waist pants to promote thoracic development.
Nutrition
Nutrition is a prerequisite for ensuring growth, development, and overall health in children. Timely education and guidance for parents and caregivers are necessary on topics such as breastfeeding, the introduction of complementary foods during the weaning period, cultivating proper eating behaviors during early childhood, and dietary planning for preschool and school-aged children.
Immunization
Planned immunization follows a vaccination schedule designed based on children's immune characteristics and patterns of infectious disease outbreaks. The use of bioproducts for scheduled immunizations raises population immunity levels, aiding in the control and eradication of infectious diseases. Infants are expected to complete the basic immunizations before their first birthday, including the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, oral trivalent poliovirus vaccine (OPV), diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus toxoids (DPT), live attenuated measles vaccine, and hepatitis B vaccine. Additional vaccines, such as the Japanese encephalitis vaccine, meningococcal vaccine, rubella vaccine, influenza vaccine, mumps vaccine, hepatitis A vaccine, varicella vaccine, Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, and rotavirus vaccine, may be administered depending on the region, season, or parental preference.
Some vaccinations may cause reactions, such as:
BCG Vaccine
Local redness and swelling may occur approximately two weeks after vaccination, with scabs forming 8–12 weeks later. If a small abscess or ulcer develops, along with axillary lymph node enlargement, local treatment can help prevent infection spread. Incisions for drainage should generally be avoided.
Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)
A very small number of infants may experience diarrhea after receiving OPV, though the condition usually resolves on its own without treatment.
DPT Vaccine
Local redness, swelling, or pain may occur, sometimes accompanied by mild fever and fatigue. Rare cases of allergic skin rash or angioedema have been reported. In the event of severe systemic reactions, medical attention should be sought promptly.
Measles Vaccine
Local reactions are typically absent, but a small number of vaccinated individuals may develop mild measles symptoms within 6–10 days, which can be managed with symptomatic treatment.
Hepatitis B Vaccine
Adverse reactions related to the hepatitis B vaccine are rare. Some individuals may experience fever or mild local pain, which typically requires no specific treatment.
Child Mental Health
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as not merely the absence of disease or infirmity but as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Based on this definition, mental health is equally as important as physical health.
Development of Habits
Sleep Habits
Developing regular sleep patterns from an early age is important.
A child’s bedroom should remain quiet with soft lighting, with activities that may cause excessive excitement avoided before bedtime.
Children benefit from consistent routines, including sleep schedules.
Lullabies or consistent music may help lull infants to sleep. Methods such as rocking, patting, or feeding should not be relied on to put a baby to sleep.
Ensuring sufficient sleep duration is essential.
Table 1 Recommended sleep duration for children aged 0–5 years (Unit: hours)
Independent sleeping habits encourage autonomy in the long term.
Eating Habits
Complementary foods should be introduced on schedule.
Meals should cater to the child's appetite, without forcing them to eat.
Regular mealtimes, designated seating, and self-feeding behaviors support healthy eating habits.
Avoiding picky eating, overindulgence in snacks, and food biases fosters balanced nutrition.
Washing hands before eating is important.
Polite table manners can also be instilled.
Toileting Habits
Early training for bowel or bladder control is considered optional; letting the process unfold naturally is another approach. Using diapers does not impede the development of potty training skills.
Hygiene Habits
Developing hygiene routines can begin in infancy, including regular bathing, trimming nails frequently, changing clothes often, and avoiding indiscriminate urination or defecation. By age three, it becomes possible to teach daily habits like brushing teeth in the morning and evening, rinsing the mouth after meals, and washing hands before meals and after using the toilet. It is also advisable for children to cultivate habits such as avoiding untreated water, not consuming unwashed fruits or dropped foods, refraining from spitting in public, and responsibly disposing of trash.
Development of Social Adaptability
The capacity to adapt socially from a young age is central to a child’s healthy growth. A child’s social adaptability reflects developmental milestones in areas of neuropsychology and is closely tied to factors such as family environment, parenting styles, gender, age, and personality.
Independence
Daily life presents opportunities to foster independence in infants and young children, such as eating alone, toileting independently, sleeping alone, and dressing themselves. For older children, developing skills in independent analysis and problem-solving becomes important.
Emotion Regulation
The ability to regulate emotions is influenced by the development of language, thought, and parental guidance. Infants and young children rely on adults for their needs; timely responses by parents promote healthy psychological development. When children’s desires are unmet, they may struggle to manage emotions, leading to tantrums or aggressive behavior. Adult responses to a child’s needs can involve meeting, constraining, or proactively addressing issues in line with societal standards, to reduce the likelihood of negative behaviors. Behavioral issues can often be addressed more effectively through guidance rather than coercion, reducing opposition.
Willpower
Awareness of fostering willpower during everyday activities, play, and learning supports the ability to overcome challenges. This approach develops conscientiousness, persistence, decisiveness, and self-control.
Social Skills
Providing positive, enjoyable interactions helps children develop harmonious relationships with their environment. This can include engaging with infants during feeding, smiling while making eye contact, holding and speaking to them, singing to them, and playing games as they grow older. Encouraging behaviors such as cooperation, mutual kindness, and compassion helps children build interpersonal skills. Playing games helps children learn to follow rules, cooperate, and interact with others in constructive ways.
Creativity
Creativity is closely tied to imagination. Thoughtfully asking children questions that encourage them to discover and explore can foster better thinking abilities. Activities such as storytelling, drawing, listening to music, role-playing, and making simple toys provide platforms for cultivating creativity and imagination.
Role of Parents and Family in Children's Mental Health
Parenting styles, attitudes, and relationships with the child are deeply connected to personality development and social adaptability. Children who form secure emotional bonds with their parents from a young age tend to have better social skills and interpersonal relationships later in life. Responding to an infant’s early babbling supports the development of language and social interaction capabilities, while physical closeness to the mother during infancy has been linked to better linguistic and cognitive development. Parents who adopt democratic educational methods often raise children who are outgoing, confident, and analytical. Conversely, children who experience frequent scolding or physical punishment may lack self-confidence, become overly cautious, and misinterpret others' intentions. Overindulgent parenting often results in children who are stubborn, lack independence, and display emotional instability. Since parents are a child’s first teachers, improving parenting skills and setting a positive example are essential.
Regular Health Checkups
Regular health checkups for children aged 0–6, whether living at home or in group care settings such as nurseries and kindergartens, provide systematic monitoring of growth, development, and overall health. Early identification of abnormalities allows for timely interventions.
Neonatal Home Visits
Within the first 28 days after birth, healthcare providers typically conduct 3–4 home visits for newborns, with additional visits for high-risk cases. These visits are usually undertaken by maternal and child health personnel from community health service centers. The primary objective of these visits is to detect potential issues early, provide timely guidance, and reduce neonatal morbidity or mitigate disease severity. The scope of home visits includes:
- Assessing the circumstances of the newborn’s birth.
- Monitoring their living conditions at home.
- Reviewing vaccination status.
- Offering feeding and care guidance.
- Measuring weight.
- Performing physical examinations focused on detecting concerns like birth trauma, jaundice, deformities, or skin and umbilical infections.
- Providing consultations and guidance.
Serious issues identified during visits may require immediate hospital referrals.
Pediatric Health Clinics
Children undergo health checkups at community health service centers based on age-specific healthcare needs. Longitudinal monitoring of physical growth and psychosocial development enables early detection of issues and informed health guidance. Checkup frequencies are typically as follows:
- Infants under six months: once per month.
- Infants aged 7–12 months: once every 2–3 months.
- Additional checkups may be recommended for high-risk or frail children.
- For children in their second and third years of life: once every six months.
- For children over three years old: annually.
Checkup content generally includes:
- Physical measurements and evaluations, with annual vision and blood pressure assessments starting at age three.
- Comprehensive physical examinations of all systems.
- Routine laboratory tests for common conditions such as iron-deficiency anemia or parasitic infections, and targeted examinations for conditions like rickets, trace element deficiencies, or developmental delays based on clinical suspicion.
Physical Exercise
Outdoor Activities
Outdoor activities can be practiced throughout all seasons. These activities improve children's adaptability to cold air and enhance immunity. Direct exposure to sunlight can also help prevent rickets. Taking infants to places with fewer people and fresher air is beneficial. The duration of outdoor activities can begin with 1–2 sessions per day, each lasting 10–15 minutes, gradually increasing to 1–2 hours. School-aged children and adolescents benefit from at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily. In winter, outdoor exposure should limit skin exposure to the face and hands, while ensuring adequate body warmth. Older children are encouraged to play outdoors regularly, except during extreme weather conditions.
Skin Stimulation
Infant Skin Massage
A small amount of baby moisturizer can be used during massages to ensure smooth movements. Gentle and rhythmic massages can be applied to the infant’s face, chest, abdomen, back, and limbs, performed twice daily for at least 15 minutes each time. Skin stimulation through massage is beneficial for circulation, respiratory function, digestion, and relaxation of muscles. Additionally, it serves as an effective means of emotional interaction between parents and infants.
Warm Baths
Warm bathing helps improve the skin’s adaptability to temperature changes, promotes metabolism, and enhances appetite. Special attention should be given to room and water temperatures during winter, with proper preparations made to minimize heat loss from the body’s surface.
Sponge Baths
After 7–8 months of age, sponge baths can be introduced. A water temperature of 32–33°C is initially used, and once the infant adjusts, the temperature can gradually be reduced to 26°C. A towel soaked in warm water (and wrung to dampness) can be used to gently rub the infant’s limbs toward the torso. After the sponge bath, the skin can be dried and gently rubbed with a dry towel until slightly reddish.
Showers
Showers are suitable for children over three years of age and are more effective than sponge baths. Showering can be done once daily, lasting 20–40 seconds per session, with water temperatures ranging from 35–36°C. After showering, the skin can be dried until slightly reddish. As the child adapts, the water temperature can be gradually reduced to 26–28°C.
Physical Activities
Passive Exercises for Infants
Passive exercises involve an adult helping infants perform flexion and extension movements of the limbs, which promote gross motor development and improve overall blood circulation. These exercises are suitable for infants aged 2–6 months and can be conducted 1–2 times daily.
Active Exercises for Infants
For infants aged 7–12 months, gross motor skills begin to develop. Activities such as crawling, sitting, rising from a supine position, pulling to stand, walking with assistance, and grasping objects with both hands can be encouraged.
Gymnastics for Toddlers
Toddlers aged 12–18 months, who are still learning to walk steadily, can engage in rhythmic activities with adult assistance. Between 18 months and three years, gymnastic exercises can be performed to music, mimicking simple movements.
Gymnastics for Children
Activities such as broadcast calisthenics and aerobics can promote coordination and facilitate muscle and skeletal development.
Games, Track and Field, and Ball Sports
Older children can engage in equipment-based activities such as rocking horses and slides, as well as participate in athletic events, ball sports, dancing, rope skipping, and similar activities.
Accident Prevention
Asphyxiation and Foreign Object Inhalation
Infants under three months of age have risks associated with asphyxiation, caused by bedding, an adult's body, or regurgitated milk. Older infants and young children are at risk of inhaling foreign objects such as food (especially seeds or jellies), buttons, coins, and other small items into the airway.
Poisoning
Maintaining proper hygiene and safety during food preparation, storage, and sale is critical to prevent bacterial food poisoning in children. Toxic foods, such as poisonous mushrooms, cyanogenic nuts (e.g., bitter almonds, peach kernels, plum kernels), ginkgo nuts, pufferfish, and raw fish gallbladders, should be avoided. Medications should be stored in places inaccessible to children, and internal and external-use drugs should be stored separately to prevent accidental ingestion of external-use medications.
Injuries
Childproofing areas such as windows, staircases, balconies, and beds by installing safety rails can help prevent falls from heights. Items like boiling water, hot oil, and hot soups should be stored out of children’s reach to prevent burns. Children should be educated about the dangers of playing with matches, gas stoves, and other hazardous materials. Electrical equipment and outlets should be equipped with safety measures to prevent electric shocks.
Drowning and Traffic Accidents
Children should be discouraged from going alone or with friends to play in rivers, ponds, or similar bodies of water without safety measures in place. Following traffic rules is an essential part of traffic safety awareness among children.
Teaching Children Self-Rescue
Children should be taught how to respond in emergencies such as home fires, external threats, or accidents by learning to call emergency numbers for immediate assistance.