3 Easy Ways to Promote a Healthy Lifestyle to Your Kids

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Raising a kid can be tough especially when you consider that their future is ultimately in your hands. How you bring them up will shape who they become and the type of lifestyle they’ll lead. Will they lay around all day eating fries and watching television or will they grow up to become strong, healthy, happy and independent adults? It’s not always entirely up to you to determine what happens but you can guide them in the right direction by promoting a few key aspects of a healthy lifestyle to them from a young age. This will go a long way in embedding values that are beneficial to their future physical and mental well being. With this in mind, here are 3 easy ways you can promote a healthy lifestyle to your kids.

Diet

As an adult, it’s easy to swap out the breakfast fruit bowl for a sugary box of cereal every now and then but kids don’t need to know about this yet! Since food preferences are developed at an early stage, the sooner you get them eating healthy food the better. Experiment a little to find what works for your family since all kids are different! For example you can offer healthier alternatives to pizzas and burgers when you’re at the restaurant to see what they will like and for sure make sure you limit the sugar. Too many parents get too caught up in the “clean plate club,” which is actually no good for anyone, so don’t worry about how much they are eating right now just make sure you are teaching them what a healthy diet consists of.

Hydration

Kids get thirsty and love drinking whatever they can get their hands on like fruit juice, soda, milkshakes or hot chocolate. The problem is that these beverages are not only terrible for their short-term health but also instill the habit of avoiding water and going for sugary, processed drinks instead. Leverage the early food preference development concept with what your kids drink as well. Looking to water as a primary means of staying hydrated will go a long way in improving their overall health. For more information on keeping yourself and your kids hydrated you can find tips here.

Exercise

We all know of the countless physical and mental health benefits of exercise. It’s important to promote and teach the importance of staying active to your kids at an early age. Be a positive role model when it comes to this aspect of life through activities such as going for a morning run with your kids or cycling around the neighborhood. You can make playtime an active and family-friendly affair whether it’s a game of soccer, playing tag or shooting hoops. Limit screen time and if your kids don’t want to exercise offer other healthy alternatives such as reading a book. Also if they have any interest in sports, be sure to accommodate for it – you never know where this might lead!