As it gets even more challenging to stay healthy, whether you’re a child or a parent, there’s a growing need to adopt habits that keep everyone in your family eating smart and staying fit.
Preparing meals together and planning outdoor activities are the most common ways for families to stay excited about healthy routines, but there are other strategies as well. Taking some carefully planned downtime can be good for the soul, while monitoring the amount of time we spend with electronics can keep our imaginations alive.
Eat right
Creating healthy eating habits is one of the best ways to make sure your family stays healthy. The more you plan meals and pack fun lunches that kids will actually eat, the less you’ll turn to junk foods.Many experts recommend you have your children join you in the kitchen regularly. The time together helps children understand what goes into preparing meals. Plus, kids are more likely to eat something they helped make.
Eat together
It is important to create healthy habits early on. These will help you make smart choices for your family. Children imitate their parents, so it’s important to set a good example. The tips below can help your family be healthy and happy.
Stay active
Whether its a bike ride, a walk or games in the backyard, staying active as a family helps keep everyone healthy, while instilling excellent habits in your children.Kids will get plenty of exercise at school, but weekends are a great time to continue that good behaviour. The World Health Organization recommends children get 60 minutes of exercise a day. So, it’s important to help them stay active on weekends too. This can easily involve playtime in the backyard and a bike ride later in the afternoon.
Quiet time
It’s important to spend down time with your children. This type of activity can range from reading and writing to relaxing and cuddling. Just as important as staying active and eating well, healthy families can spend a little time every day having fun just by being in each other’s company.
Limit technology time
It can be far too easy to fall into a cozy chair or bed with a phone or tablet in front of your face. Because we use our devices for nearly everything throughout our day, it’s helpful to ban the electronics for certain types of activities and certain periods of time.Pick up actual books for story time or write out your recipes with pen and paper before diving into group cooking sessions. Break out the board games and put the phones out of reach. Whatever the activity, just make sure our personal devices aren’t part of the equation.
There are many ways for families to stay healthy. Put in an extra walk one day, arrange a weekly recipe night or plan some quality downtime. Whatever the approach, it’s important to find the best strategies that work for you and your family.
