Top Tips For Helping Your Kids Develop Healthy Habits
One of the best things you can do as a parent is to encourage healthy behavior in your kids – in all different areas of their lives. And it’s important to remember that the habits you try to instill from an early age will be the ones they continue through adolescence and – hopefully – long into their adult lives. Here are a few tips on some of the health habits you can try to impart to your kids and see how they can help.
Be the ultimate role model
First of all, you have to understand that as a parent, everything you do will be observed, copied, and thought about by your children. They will look to you for everything, and all those bad habits you might have will end up as their own naughty habits, too. Of course, it’s impossible to be perfect for every second of every day, but if your kids see you being kind, polite, eating well and doing lots of exercises, they will likely do the same.
Always see the positive side
If you always see the big problems in life, guess what? Your kids will do exactly the same. It’s vital that you try and maintain a positive attitude in everything you do, and show your children how it can help. And it’s the same principle for dealing with your kids’ behaviors, too. Stop telling them what they can’t do, and tell them what they can do instead. The more fun your children have, the more praise you can give, and the more you celebrate success, the better.
Encourage good posture
Living in the western world is causing many of us health problems, and it’s important to understand that it won’t take much to make some simple changes. One of the best things you can do for your child’s health is to encourage them to develop a good posture when sitting, to stand, and even to lie down. Let’s face it, with so much technology at our fingertips these days, many youngsters spend a long time sitting down, and it can have a hugely detrimental effect on their posture. So, for example, instead of sitting on the ground – or even on a comfy chair – why not try squatting? It’s great for your spine for a variety of reasons, including the fact that you are using your muscles correctly, as evolution intended. The truth about sitting down for extended periods is that all the pressure is on your child’s rear, while the rest of their body is completely relaxed. That means they lose muscle, get brittle bones, and can even shorten their hip flexors.
Encourage healthy eating
You shouldn’t need anyone to tell you about the benefits of healthy eating. But, of course, as soon as you have kids and life gets incredibly busy, it can sometimes be all too easy to take the quick and easy option when it comes to breakfast, lunches, and dinners. It’s also simpler to give kids what they want, instead of what you know they should eat. They can be incredibly fussy eaters, and a young child that loves eating their veggies rather than a hot dog are a rare breed indeed. But again, the earlier you impress the importance of a healthy diet – and the more effort you put in – the healthier you child will be. It’s that simple, so try and stop cutting corners quite so much.
Be active as a family
The more activity your family partakes in, the more likely your children will grow up to do the same. And an active person has a much higher likelihood of living a longer and happier life than someone who stays in watching TV and playing video games for 12 hours every day. Sure, it’s OK for children to watch an hour or two every day, but the sedentary lifestyle is not only unhealthy, but it’s also positively dangerous. Many experts believe that inactivity could be one of the major factors behind all kinds of worrying conditions, from diabetes through to obesity and heart problems.
Encourage hard work rather than rewarding intelligence
Finally, if you have bright kids, congratulations! But just because they excel at school or seem to be developing their brains at an early age, it doesn’t mean your children will be successful. In fact, many bright children fail to develop a good work ethic, as everything comes easy to them, so parents should always reward working hard and effort over any natural talent. The difference it can make can be huge for your child’s future, and the combination of hard work and high intelligence could be the making of them.
