4 Tips for Raising Healthy Children
When it comes to good health that lasts a lifetime, it’s never too early to start teaching kids the right habits and values. Give your little ones the best possible start at a healthy, wonderful life by incorporating the following tips into how you raise them. Not only will they grow up to be better, more health-conscious people, but they’ll be more likely to raise healthy children one day themselves.
1. Make Exercise a Priority
Don’t let an overabundance of screen time coax your child into living a sedentary lifestyle. Getting enough exercise is important for everyone, but especially children. Make sure your little ones are getting as close to an hour of it a day as possible. Keep it fun and appealing by encouraging them to play sports they love or by turning exercise into a family activity. Think after dinner walks, rainy day dance parties, or weekend bike rides downtown!
2. Cook Nutritious Meals
No matter how busy you are, it’s important to resist the urge to simply swing through the drive-thru on the way home and call it a night. Instead, stock your pantry with nutritious options like rice, beans, or canned fish and your freezer with frozen veggies. Staples like those make it easy to whip up a wholesome, balanced meal in no time even when you’re busy or tired. Alternatively, pick one day off each week to prep meals to last the entire week. Make sure any possible gaps in your child’s nutrition are well accounted for by adding good quality kids gummy vitamins to their daily routine as well.
3. Encourage Hydration
Children can easily become dehydrated, especially in the summers or during physical activity. In fact, by the time a child feels thirsty enough to actually request a drink or seek one out on their own, dehydration is likely already setting in. Actively encourage your children to sip on water (as opposed to sugary juices or soft drinks) throughout the day. Make it more fun by giving them cool, colorful, reusable bottles to drink from.
4. Set an Example
Kids learn best by observing their parents’ behavior and mimicking it for better or worse, so make sure yours is a good example of the values you’re trying so hard to teach. Eat right, exercise daily, and take care of yourself in every way. Take advantage of teaching moments that let you explain to a child why it’s best to do things one way instead of another as well. It will pay off in a big way when it comes to your child’s ongoing commitment to whole body health.