As a parent, one of your worst nightmares is probably to discover that your child has developed some kind of a health problem. Yet, this is something that you need to think about from the outset, as it is likely to affect every child at some point in their childhood. Disease and illness is a natural part of life, and something which we cannot do very much about, besides treating each case as it comes and trying to make lifestyle changes in order to stop those illnesses occurring in the first place. It helps too to be aware of some of the common health problems your children can develop, so that you are prepared and know what to do in those specific situations.

Anaemia

Anaemia can be common in toddlers because it is a common age to develop a pattern of fussy eating. As toddlers are growing and changing and also testing boundaries they can often go from being good eaters as babies and transform into fussy eaters.

This can be both frustrating and distressing for parents, but you are not alone – this is a common problem during the toddler years. Toddlers who consume a large amount of milk are at greater risk because milk hinders the absorption of iron.

With fussy eaters it can be a case of trial and error. What works for one won’t work for another, so you need to just keep trying things until you find what works for your child.

If they will only drink milk and water that can be one of the hardest situations, as it is very hard to to hide any iron supplement in either milk or water. If they will drink juice you might find it easier to hide some supplements.

I’ve written more about how to cope with anaemia in children, so have a look there too for tips.

Swollen Lymph Glands

Most often the result of an infection, swollen lymph glands can also be due to other, more serious reasons, and that is why it is always a concern to see in children. If your child develops swollen lymph glands, however, the first thing to bear in mind is not to panic. There are many reasons that this particular problem can occur, and according to patient.info, the good news is that there are also a range of treatments which you can turn to. For this reason, you don’t need to worry too much as it is likely that you will be able to solve the problem soon enough.

Nonetheless, be sure to get your child seen by a doctor as soon as possible, so that you can stop having to worry and get them the treatment they need as fast as possible.

Depression

We don’t often think about children as having mental health conditions, but the truth is that there are a number of these conditions which your children can possibly have. One of the most common, especially in older children, is depression. This is something which can be hard to spot at first, but it is important to try and keep on the lookout, as it can really make a difference to your child’s well-being and quality of life.

The earlier you catch it, like any other illness, the sooner you can treat it. This does not necessarily mean medicine, of course – it might be that therapy alone is enough to treat the depression.

Ear and throat infections

There are lots of infections which your children might pick up, and it’s a good idea to be aware of them so that you can fight them as early as possible. Ear infections and throat infections are particularly common, and they can also unfortunately be very painful.

Nonetheless, they are usually easily cleared up with antibiotics, (or sometimes it’s just best to ride them out) so it’s not something to worry about too much. The important thing is to make sure that you catch it as early as possible, so that you can get the treatment as soon as possible. This will reduce anxiety in yourself and the child, and help to relieve the pain as soon as possible too.