The Dos and Don’ts of Raising Healthy Children
Raising healthy, happy children is all any great parent wants, right? However, it’s harder than ever to raise healthy children in 2018 with things that they may see in the media and the fact that they want to sit with their faces in a screen the majority of the time.
If you want to make sure your kids grow up healthy and happy, pay attention to these dos and don’ts:
Do Teach Your Kids That Balance Is Important
Your kids need to know that balance is important, whether this has to do with work and play or food. They need to be brought up with a balanced mindset. This can be tricky, as you want the best for your kids, but certain things you do can cause problems. For example, never letting them eat treats could be bad for their balanced mindset and make them feel left out with other kids, although you just want them to be healthy. However, using treats as a reward could teach them to reward themselves with food as they get older, using it as a crutch, and this can be equally as bad for them. Also using words like ‘good food’ and ‘bad food’ can be dangerous. However, it’s understandable that these habits can be hard to break as we have had to deal with them for years! Choose the Healthy Choice of Treats For your Children Visit Mid-Day Squares
Don’t Talk About Your Child’s Weight
You should never talk about your child’s weight – or even your own weight, in front of your child. They need to learn about the foods that are healthy, yes, but you don’t want to give them a complex or make them believe that their value is tied to their weight. We have enough messages like that in magazines and on social media! You can keep them at a healthy weight without putting emphasis on it. Don’t talk to your kids about your diet if you’re on one, and don’t talk about how much weight you’ve lost in front of them. Don’t compliment them by telling them ‘you look slim!’, compliment them by telling them ‘you look happy and radiant!’. It will make a big difference, as we unconsciously teach kids lessons about life via the words we use all the time.
Do Make Your Children Play Outside
You can’t plonk your kids in front of a laptop or TV every day. It’s doing them no good! Make them play outside like kids used to. Have their friends over. Invest in things to make them enthusiastic about playing outside, like a football net or a trampoline. You can look at The Definitive Top 5 Best and Safest Trampoline Brands of 2018 if you’re worried that your child could get hurt. You want as many reasons for them to get outside and enjoy being active as possible. Even giving them cheap colored chalk to draw on the pavement and play hopscotch could make a big difference!
Don’t Talk About Yourself In A Negative Way
As well as mentioning your weight (whether in a positive or negative way), you shouldn’t talk about yourself in a negative way in front of your kids. They pick up the way they speak and think about themselves from you. If you berate yourself in front of them, they will learn to do the same to themselves. If you want your kids to be happy, healthy, and have a great self-image (mental health is crucial, too) then you need to make sure you’re setting a great example.
Do Praise Them The Right Way
Praising your kids is important, but it must be done the right way. People often praise their kids by saying how talented they are, but this can only set them up for failure later on down the line. Instead of praising talent, praise the effort that went into something. This way, they won’t feel sad when something is difficult later on, and they’ll push through to complete projects. Making them believe they should be naturally gifted at something can cause all kinds of issues through their school years and even their adult lives.
Don’t Protect Your Kids From Failure
Your kids need to learn some things themselves, so don’t protect them from failure. They may need to fall over a few times so they learn how to pick themselves back up!
If there’s one thing this article proves, it’s that you need to be in a healthy, balanced mindset yourself before you can teach your kids to do the same. Your kids are going to learn from you and everything you say and do, so making sure you’re in a great place mentally will be one of the best things you do.
