How To Prevent Anemia In A Young Child

For those of you who have managed to lull yourself into a sense of false security with the mistaken belief that anemia is a nutritional disorder that is only to be found within the developing nations are in for a rude awakening. Recent studies commissioned by the WHO have identified that one fifth of all children in America will at sometime in their lives, go on to develop anemia which is caused by iron deficiency.

This will no doubt come as a great surprise to many of us, especially given the fact that multivitamin supplements are freely and readily available at competitive prices. However, there are a number of issues and factors that are directly involved in the level of risk that a child faces in relation to developing anemia and the simple truth of the matter is that many of these risks are easily avoidable.

What are some of the potential issues that can lead a child to anemia?

One issue that has been identified time and time again has been the role of the parents, and to be more specific, their inability to actually take the next necessary step of disciplining the child, and ensuring that the child actually eats the foods that they have been presented. Faced with the demands of paying a mortgage, looking after their own physical and mental wellbeing on top of caring for an unruly and belligerent child, many parents will simply crack under the pressure.

One approach is to try experimenting with different types of foods that have been proven to have a high iron content, in order to pinpoint a particular type of food that the child is actually happy to eat. Whilst the child may object to eating leafy green vegetables, perhaps they can be persuaded to eat more beans, pulses, or oatmeal.

Children are very impressionable and vulnerable to suggestability, meaning that they will follow the example set by their parents. Therefore, if the child sees that you take care to eat your own vegetables, and the foods that you are encouraging them to eat, they will be more likely to do so.