By instilling healthy habits in your kids early on, you’ll be able to prevent various bad habits from developing once they become older. However, you have to keep in mind that simply telling your children to do something will often not be enough. That is why you should explain to them why they should do certain things and lead by example by demonstrating how these things should be done. Here are some suggestions to consider when teaching your kids to adopt healthy habits.
Have colourful meals
Even if you don’t like certain foods, it’s important to prepare them for your kids as they need a balanced diet. This means including a rainbow of colours into their everyday meals and incorporating various fruits and veggies into their diet. Having the colours range from white, yellow, and orange to red, blue, and green can help you better explain to your kids what nutritional value is and why they need to eat all sorts of foods. What is more, teach them about the importance of not skipping breakfast and, if possible, try to have at least one meal a day together as a family.
Choose water over soda
Other than the food, what your kids drink is also important. Teach them that soft drinks are not healthy for them and that they should drink water instead. While they might not understand all the specifics, at least explain that too much sugar is not good for them and that soda is full of it. What is more, it has no nutrients so they can’t grow to be big and strong. There are many tricks to drinking water on a regular basis, so you can try infusing it with fruit if your kids want it to be tastier.
Take care of the pearly whites
Something else your kids should learn while young is the importance of oral hygiene. Make it a thing to brush your teeth together in the morning and in the evening. That way, you can teach them the best practices and ensure they are doing it properly. Orthodontists from Church St Dental recommend taking your kids to get their teeth checked out early on as you might prevent potentially serious issues as well as a fear of the dentist from developing.
Pick fun physical activities
You should not allow your kids to spend the entire day watching TV or playing on the computer. Inactivity is detrimental to their health, so you have to make sure they are getting enough exercise. Seeing as how working out often seems boring, you have to find an interesting way to make it appealing. Look for activities you can do as a family such as volleyball or swimming. By doing things together, they will not see it as exercise but as quality family time. Plus, even if you do opt for typical exercises, when they see you being active, they might follow your lead.
Play with other kids
To provide them with life skills for the rest of their lives, you should also encourage your kids to make friends. Whether it’s at school or on the playground, playing with friends can help kids develop social skills that will be of great value later on, such as cooperation, communication, and problem-solving. Having friends will not only benefit their school performance but their mental health as well.
There are so many other things you should teach your kids as well, from remembering to wear their seat belt to washing their hands properly. Put the emphasis on their health and safety instead of making something a chore and keep being a good role model.