Looking for ways to help your kids lead happier lives? Well, their happiness may just begin with their health. Imparting healthy habits throughout childhood makes those healthy routines more likely to stick throughout adulthood. So, where should you start when trying to raise healthy kids? These are a few things you should focus on for your family.
Teach Your Kids to Care for Their Teeth
Oral health can affect many aspects of overall wellness. For one, maintaining a clean smile can boost your child’s confidence. Brushing, flossing, and seeing a dentist can also help prevent poor oral health from creating other health problems. Each family member should have a dental checkup every six months to keep gums and teeth healthy. Looking for a new family dentist? You can use online dentist locators to find an office that is convenient to you and fits your needs. These tools make finding a quality dentist less difficult For many parents though, establishing daily dental routines is the biggest challenge. If this is the case for you, consider creating a fun brushing chart that will keep your kids excited about practicing proper oral hygiene. Offer rewards to really sweeten the oral health deal.
Explain the Importance of Mental Health
Addressing and managing mental health is also essential for your family’s well-being. For example, if your children tend to suffer from stress and anxiety, you can look for soothing, natural ways to help them feel better. Limiting screen time, increasing authentic human interactions and lots of vitamin D can do wonders for the mental and emotional state of a child. In addition to lavender, many have found CBD to be beneficial for the treatment of anxiety, and there appear to be fewer side effects than prescription anxiety medications. CBD-infused gummies can be a great way to introduce this natural supplement with your children thanks to their great flavor, but you should research before you buy. Check with your pediatrician or therapists before giving CBD to children. In addition to treating mental health issues, you can also use mental health books to help kids better understand emotions. Written with kids in mind, these books address anxiety, as well as other mental health issues, in ways that children can easily understand and absorb.
Encourage Interest in Fruits and Vegetables
You know your kids need to eat their fruits and veggies to maintain good health. Including these whole foods on their plates is vital for building a lifetime of healthy eating habits. Often time, however, kids and veggies just don’t mix. If your kids need encouragement to try veggies, think about getting them to help you grow some. Getting kids interested in gardening is an effective way to get them more interested in eating those nutritious foods. Let your children pick out their favorite seeds or plants so they feel more involved. If you don’t have a backyard, a balcony veggie garden will work as well. When it comes time to harvest, include the veggies and greens you grew together in kid-friendly salads to get your kids eating healthier. You can even have kids assemble their own salads, for an easy and fun healthy mealtime.
Ensure Children Get Enough Daily Exercise
Learning to eat whole, healthy foods is a basic wellness habit every child should learn. To complement those clean eating lessons, you also need to encourage your children to lead active lifestyles. In fact, a regular exercise routine is crucial for your child’s physical development. So, how often should your kids exercise? Aim for about an hour of aerobic exercise, whether it’s riding a bike or playing with friends, each day. Here at KOPD, we are finding family friendly games of chase such as Wizards and Dragons to be an effective way for the whole family to engage in aerobic exercise. Children should also work their bones and muscles with activities like climbing or gymnastics. Need more tips and ideas for helping your kids stay active? One of the best ways to keep kids exercising long-term is to model those physical fitness habits yourself. Even better, get out and exercise with your children, but try to keep the focus on having fun as a family.
Little Eyes are Watching
We might think about our kids catching us doing something we aren’t proud of, but there’s another side to that coin: setting a good example by prioritizing what’s important to us. Healthy kids learn from healthy adults. So if you’re stuck in a rut and you’ve put everything on hold, we may be setting a precedent for our kids to do the same. One step to overcoming that is to take inventory of your goals in life: ready to get back into shape or start pursuing that online business degree? Then take that step, because those little eyes are watching our example!
There’s no magic formula for raising happy, healthy kids. If there was one, however, healthy daily habits and lifestyle choices would definitely be key ingredients. Teach your kids how to take care of their physical and mental health, and set the example by taking care of yours too.
For more great ideas on how to raise a happy healthy family at every stage, visit the King of Prussia Doulas blog. And if you’d like to work with one of our specialists to support your pregnancy or postpartum journey, contact us today!
Guest Blog by Emily Graham at MightyMoms
