Tips for Parents: Raising Healthy Kids

As parents, we share a common goal: raise healthy and happy children. But, how do you do that while also prioritizing your own well-being? The answer is to become a role model. Today on Child Care Centers, we share information and insight on how to help your kids make the best decisions for their health and happiness.

Look at Your Own Habits

Before you can become a positive role model in your children’s lives, you have to first take a look at yourself. If you are extremely overweight, for example, is it because you do not exercise or eat well? Years of mounting evidence show that women and men with a waist size of greater than 35 and 40 inches, respectively, are at a higher risk of many health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. Do you smoke? You should know that lung cancer kills more people than breast cancer, according to the American Lung Association.

It is not just the actions you take that directly affect your physical health. Two other areas to self-reflect upon include whether or not you are in a healthy relationship and if you are happy in your career. If the workplace is getting you down, take action to be happy at work, including embracing repetition of the more tedious tasks and learning how to deal with frustration.

Making a Change

Making positive changes so that you may become a role model doesn’t mean overhauling your entire life. Instead, it means looking at where you think your actions might be most impactful.

In the career happiness example above, consider going back to school to earn a degree so that you can work in a fulfilling career. Why is this important? Because when your children see you push out of your comfort zone to pursue your passions, they are more likely to follow suit. It won’t be easy, but you can earn a degree online – most programs offer flexibility so you can continue working while parenting.

Another important area to make tweaks is in how you exercise. If you currently come home from work and sit stagnant until dinner, you may be wasting a valuable opportunity to boost your energy and mental health while keeping your weight under control. Angleton ER also suggests that regular exercise has long-term health benefits, including lowering your risk of the same diseases that obesity puts you at risk of.

Daily Doings

The changes mentioned above do require a commitment. But, there are also small steps you can take each day to showcase healthy behaviors. These include:

• Making healthy food choices. Stick with whole foods – a good rule of thumb here: only eat foods you can pronounce – and avoid unhealthy snacks. Remember, yogurt, energy bars, and sports drinks often masquerade as wholesome despite containing more fat and sugar than you need.

• Get enough sleep. We all know there are not enough hours in the day. But, you have to make time for sleep. Even your teenagers need at least eight hours each night, or you may find that they are unable to concentrate and are overall tired and cranky.

• Limit social media. Children tend to believe that the world’s reality is reflected in front of them based on their Instagram feeds. Seeing mostly filtered influencers, kids can quickly get body image issues and feelings of inadequacy. Put the phone down, and show your children that it’s much better to interact with the real world than social media fantasies.

Our job as parents is never over, and there are no breaks. If you want your kids to grow up healthy and happy, you have to be the influence they need now. This means making healthy decisions for yourself and knowing that they will follow suit.