For parents
Healthy habits for your child
Home food, lots of play, enough sleep and very little mobile phone. These habits help every child grow. The advice here comes from Indian and world health experts.
What should my child eat?
- Babies: only breast milk for the first 6 months. Not even water.
- After 6 months: add soft home-made food. Keep breastfeeding up to 2 years or more.
- Under 2: no added sugar. No biscuits, juice or cold drinks.
- A good plate: rice or roti with dal, vegetables and greens, fruit, milk or curd, and eggs or fish if you eat them.
- At every age: less sugar, salt, fried food and packet food. Use iodised salt.
- Water, not cold drinks. Boil water if you are not sure it is safe.
- Eat together. Do not force food.
- Keep feeding your child during loose motions or illness.
How much should my child play?
| Under 1 year | Active several times a day. Not tied in a seat or carrier for more than 1 hour at a time. |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 years | At least 3 hours of play spread over the day. From 3 years, 1 hour of it running and jumping. |
| 5 to 17 years | At least 1 hour of active play every day. Running, jumping or climbing at least 3 days a week. |
Sit less at every age. Play outdoors when you can: time outdoors also helps protect against short sight.
How much sleep does my child need?
| 4 to 11 months | 12 to 16 hours |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 years | 11 to 14 hours |
| 3 to 5 years | 10 to 13 hours |
| 6 to 12 years | 9 to 12 hours |
| 13 to 18 years | 8 to 10 hours |
These hours include naps. Keep the same bedtime every day, with a routine: brush, book, bed.
How much mobile phone and TV?
| Under 2 years | No screens. Only short video calls with family who live far away. |
|---|---|
| 2 to 5 years | At most 1 hour a day, 20 to 30 minutes at a time, with an adult. Less is better. |
| 5 to 10 years | Less than 2 hours a day, including homework. |
| Teenagers | Cut screen time if play, sleep or study suffer. |
Too much screen time is linked to late talking. If your child is late to talk, cut screens and also see a doctor. Do not wait.
What are good phone rules for the family?
- No phone while feeding, at meals, or in the hour before sleep.
- A phone is not a way to stop crying. Tell grandparents and other carers too.
- Watch together, and talk about what you see.
- Do not keep the TV on in the background.
- Every 20 minutes on a screen, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
- Parents: children copy you. Keep your own phone down.
Do mobile phones cause autism?
Research has not shown that screens cause autism. Some autistic children are drawn to screens. Keep to the limits anyway.
Which health help does the government give?
- All vaccines in the government schedule are free at government health centres, sub-centres and Anganwadis, and at the ANM’s village sessions.
- Worm tablets (albendazole) are free for ages 1 to 19, at school or the Anganwadi, twice a year. Skip the tablet if your child is sick that day.
- Iron: the ASHA gives iron syrup twice a week to children from 6 months to 5 years. Schools give an iron tablet once a week.
How do I keep hands and teeth clean?
- Wash hands with soap before eating, before cooking or feeding, and after the toilet. Scrub for 20 seconds.
- Brush twice a day from the first tooth. Under 3: a rice-grain smear of fluoride toothpaste. From 3: a pea-sized amount.
- Help your child brush until about age 8.
How do I keep my child safe at home?
- Drowning is a leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 4. Cover wells and water tanks. Keep an adult watching near water.
- Lock away medicines, kerosene, pesticides and cleaners, in their own bottles.
- On a motorbike, a child under 4 needs a helmet and a safety harness, and the bike must go no faster than 40 km/h.
Questions parents ask
My child will not eat vegetables. What can I do?
Do not force food, and eat together. If your child is not gaining weight, see a doctor.
Is a little phone time okay for my 1 year old?
Indian child doctors say no screens before age 2, except short video calls with family far away.
Are vaccines free?
Yes. All child vaccines under the government programme are free at government health facilities.
Where this comes from
- ICMR-NIN: Dietary Guidelines for Indians (2024) (opens in a new tab)
- Indian Academy of Pediatrics: Screen time and digital wellness (2021) (opens in a new tab)
- WHO: Physical activity, sitting and sleep for children under 5 (2019) (opens in a new tab)
- WHO: Physical activity guidelines (2020) (opens in a new tab)
- WHO: Be healthy, physical activity (opens in a new tab)
- WHO: Physical activity fact sheet (opens in a new tab)
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine: Sleep hours for children (opens in a new tab)
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Healthy sleep habits (opens in a new tab)
- NHS: Fussy eaters (opens in a new tab)
- National Health Mission: Immunisation FAQ (opens in a new tab)
- National Health Mission: National Deworming Day checklist (opens in a new tab)
- National Health Mission: Deworming FAQ for frontline workers (opens in a new tab)
- Anemia Mukt Bharat: Operational guidelines (opens in a new tab)
- CDC: When and how to wash your hands (opens in a new tab)
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Fluoride and children (opens in a new tab)
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Teething and dental hygiene (opens in a new tab)
- American Academy of Ophthalmology: Outdoor time and short sight (opens in a new tab)
- WHO: Drowning fact sheet (opens in a new tab)
- Government of India (PIB): Child safety on motorbikes, 2022 (opens in a new tab)
- NHS: Preventing poisoning (opens in a new tab)
- JAMA Network Open (2023): Screen use and autism, a review of 46 studies (opens in a new tab)
Checked on: 22 October 2026
This page is general information, not medical advice. Every child is different.
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