Teach Your Kids Healthy Habits
When it comes to kids and healthy habits, studies suggest that two factors can play a big role: Kids establish lasting habits by age 9, and they can learn healthy habits as early as age 5. That means the early years offer a great opportunity to put children on track for healthy futures. But how do you do that? Here are some ideas.
Model good behavior. Kids respond better to examples than to rules and regulations. Adopt your own good habits so they can see what a healthy lifestyle looks like.
Keep it positive. A positive outlook feeds overall well-being, so show your kids what it’s like to keep things positive.
Make meals healthy. Focus on fresh food and avoid junk food, sugary drinks and oversized portions. And let kids help with food preparations, so they learn how to use healthy ingredients.
Encourage exercise. Take the kids on walks or bike rides, enroll them in sports programs, take fitness classes with them… whatever works best to help them get active.
Limit screen time. Studies show that kids who spend a lot of time staring at screens develop sedentary lifestyles, which can lead to long-term health problems.
See the doctor. Keeping up with children’s annual doctor visits will help to keep them healthy and allow you to address problems quickly.
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Tags: healthy habits, kids, kids health