In the modern world, health is something that can be quite a challenge to maintain. With so many health concerns floating around, it is even more of a challenge to make sure that your children are doing the right things to sustain their wellness. Here are 5 mistakes you can avoid when it comes to the health of your kids.

1. Mistake # 1: Not teaching your child about the importance of safe driving on the roads

A DUI conviction will likely be raised to a felony if it is the driver’s fourth DUI offense or the driver has had a prior felony DUI offense within 10 years of the new charge. Penalties like these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to poor driving habits. Without a safe driving practice, it is all too easy to cause serious personal injuries and even death. Failing to educate your child on the dangers of driving can put them at risk for serious consequences.

Enrolling your kids in a safe driving course is always a good idea once they hit their driving age. But leading by example is another great way to demonstrate how important it is to maintain safe driving habits. As with most healthy behaviors, your children tend to mimic your own actions. So be a model of a safe driver, not a risky one.

2. Mistake # 2: Neglecting to care for their skin

About 10 to 15% of those with psoriasis get it before age 10. Psoriasis is rare in infants. While conditions like these are hard to deal with, most skin problems are more subtle than this. But the good news is that many of them can be avoided by simply practicing the right skin care routines. Rather than allowing the skin of your child to get dried out and dehydrated, make sure you are treating their skin with the proper products that will protect and nurture their skin to make it even more healthy than ever before.

Similar to skin care, many other aspects of health depend on routine habits that we perform each and every day. Rather than allowing habits to slide, try to do everything you can to track your family’s skincare and other healthy habits. When they fail to act in accordance with their habits, it will be that much more obvious. Keeping track of things often makes it far easier for you and your family members to keep up with all those little day to day actions that build up a long, happy, and healthy lifestyle.

3. Mistake # 3: Failing to keep up on regular visits to the doctor

The healthcare system is one that can be quite complex. The financial aspects of healthcare are often astonishing to most people. In fact, did you know that the estimated cost of waste in the US health care system ranged from $760 billion to $935 billion? With big numbers like these floating around it is all too easy to get lost in the details. But at the end of the day, making sure that you keep up with regular doctor’s visits can make all the difference in your child’s health and wellbeing.

Were you aware of the fact that most lawns require 1 inch of water weekly? In a similar way, our bodies need water in order to stay as happy and healthy as we can possibly be. Failing to take care of basic needs such as hydration can often cause a complex series of events that will lead to even more doctor’s visits. But when you keep up with your kids’ doctor visits on a regular basis, you can rest assured that you are doing your part as a parent to give them the best odds of living a happy and healthy life.

4. Mistake # 4: Not emphasizing the importance of a balanced and healthy diet

We all know that eating the right foods will often make a huge difference in the quality of both our minds and our bodies. But we live in a world that often pushes fast food, chemicals, and sweet treats onto our children. While these kinds of tasty but unhealthy foods are okay to consume as a special occasion from time to time, they should never be the bulk of a person’s diet. By making sure to educate your kids on the importance of eating plenty of fruits and vegetables you can help them to avoid a wide variety of different health problems that tend to arise from a poor diet.

5. Mistake # 5: Failing to take care of your child’s dental health

Dental health is a huge component of overall health and wellness. Most people make the mistake of simply thinking about the look of their teeth. While you certainly do want your child’s teeth to look great, dental health is about so much more than a nice smile. It is about making sure to take care of the overall health of the mouth, teeth, and gums.

Great dental health habits begin in the home environment. Of course, daily brushing and flossing are needed. As a parent, this is one of the areas in which you are able to lead by example. When you set an expectation for dental health in the home, your children are far more likely to carry on with their best practices for keeping their teeth looking and feeling at their best. Of course, keeping up regular visits to the dentist’s office does not hurt matters either.

As lists like these serve to show you, there are lots of things that can make the health of your child far worse off than it needs to be in the first place. By taking care of your child’s health now, you can see the benefits of such behavior pay off over the long term. Although parenting your kids to live in a healthy manner is not always an easy thing, it is always something that you and your family will be grateful for long into the future. Good luck and stay healthy out there!