It is exciting, the thought of making and having a family and yet, the process of nurturing one can be incredibly exhausting and demanding. As your children grow, they become busy, just like you, with friends, school projects and preparations for their prom next month and before you know it, so much time has passed and they’re ready to start their own family. While your family is in the growing stages, exposure to external influences can affect the overall mental and physical wellbeing of each child, with the favourite point of call being food.
Creating a healthy lifestyle for your family will not happen overnight, but with gradual changes using the tips we’ve provided below, you’re bound to notice positive changes in the long run. Here are some tips that can help you create the best health regimen for your children.
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Eat Together As A Family
Many families are seeing and recognizing the importance of instilling good health habits in the home; not only does it mean healthy eating, but also eating together as a family. Enjoying good family eating habits from childhood may help children better enjoy and focus on what they are eating.
Get Children Involved In Sporting Activities
Exercise contributes significantly to a healthy physical, mental and psychosocial development of children. Unfortunately, in modern society, the scope for movement of children is increasingly limited. Television, online games or game consoles, as well as computers, often determine the daily lives of children; the time they spend is lost as a time of movement.
For children, there are many ways to be physically active. Even everyday activities at home such as cleaning rooms, taking away garbage and going shopping together are good enough. They should be about 30 to 60 minutes daily. Leisure or playful activities that do not work up too much sweat or make you too breathless, such as cycling can be fun for both you and the children.
Be A Role Model
The attitude of parents towards their child is vital for a child’s development. Parents who are late in having children may often find it easier to embrace their new role as parents when compared to those who are younger. Paying attention to kids by spending time together and reading helps your child’s behavior and attention. Only if parents lead by example children, children can behave.
Have Regular Health Checkups
The state of health, growth, and development of the child and adolescent should be controlled and supervised periodically, in addition to the visits made to the doctor and other health specialists. Children must have the usual periodic dental, or eye checkups to rectify any issues with their development. When a child is young, braces, glasses or even contact lenses are often recommended by specialists. If your child has been prescribed contacts, you can read more about looking after contact lenses and putting them in with this helpful article.
Shop Together With Kids
When parents go shopping with their children, they learn to compare packaging and pay attention to prices and ingredients. This is a valuable lesson for later life and you can promote healthy eating with what you buy.
Monitor What Children Eat Outside The Home
Many children already go to the toddler group for one year. Then follow kindergarten and all-day school. Often, they travel 30 to 40 hours a week – and eat there as well. That’s why parents should pay close attention to what the kids get there.
Engage Kids With Less TV
As good as exercise is for the mind of children is, so unfavorable is an excess of television, PlayStation or computer games; what is known as ‘device addiction.’ Because then the children have no time to play with their friends or siblings. Also, there is a risk that in television or similar activities increasingly high-calorie foods (sweets, chips, lemonade) are consumed, which are also promoted on television. Parents should, therefore, set clear limits for the use of these media. TV or computer at the best time of the day, i.e., in the afternoon, should try and be avoided.
Also, by no means should the family sit in front of the TV for the “big” meals. When children eat in front of the TV to eat, they are unconscious of the food they are eating which can be dangerous, as it can lead to choking. Therefore, children should have as little television as possible at meal times, as it would be better to engage with them and spend time with them.
Improve Social & Emotional Skills
Kids learn mostly via what they see around them and not necessarily what they’re admonished to do; they pick swiftly acts they see from parents or older adults around them due to their adventurous and curious nature. Hence, it’s crucial to explore as well as demonstrate emotional & social skills that portray them as individuals who are considerate of other people around them. When kids understand that a neighbor’s well-being is as important as theirs, they will grow to become courteous, respectful, empathetic, reflective individuals who’re are not all for themselves but the greater good of all.
Limit Their Sugar Intake
In addition, children are great consumers of energy, so they tend to peck between meals; the children’s food industry has achieved flavors that are so tasty for kids, but are also artificial and unhealthy to attract their tastes. In general, they only provide calories that are not nutritious at all. It is advisable for parents to manage their child’s sugar intake as much as possible; this means changing them to fruits or snacks which provide them with much healthier, more nutritious and satisfying energy.
Plant Your Own Vegetables and Fruits
Whether garden, parcel or balcony, it helps children if they grow their own fruit and vegetables. This is how they can relate to food and understand where each food comes from. There will also be a sense of pride and achievement when a child can eat something they have grown and looked after themselves.
Cook Together
It is very good for kids to participate with parents with the kitchen tasks; playing cooking games in which you can engage with the kids and make it fun is another fantastic alternative to explain the importance of a good diet and healthy eating. When parents and children cook together, it strengthens attachment. In addition, the little ones can learn along the way, how they prepare healthy food and what is in which dishes.
With the above tips, children will have fun with food, and they will learn and grow up healthy. They will also develop into healthy adults who know how to feed themselves; who knows, maybe they will end up being famous chefs.
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Photo Credit: Rhone Picsea Alvaro Reyes Allen Taylor
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