Terri Ramsey Beavers If you’ve got kids, you want them to grow up big, healthy and strong – there’s no doubt about that! You want them to be active participants in a healthy lifestyle, but that can be hard when you’ve got so many outside influences convincing them to stay indoors, be on social media, and eat fast food all day long. So how can you make a difference? How can you show your kids that living healthy is fun and easy? Here are some tips.
Make Fruits and Vegetables Fun
Kids will eat most foods you set in front of them when they look nice and are presented in a fun way – it’s true! If something is colorful and looks inviting, your kids are going to try it first, so get yellows, reds, and greens together and arrange them into smiley faces or stick them on kebab sticks. And remember; when it comes to keeping your kids healthy as they grow and arming their immune systems against disease eradication, eating enough of their fruits and veggies is the best way forward.
Encourage Active Playtimes
Getting the kids up and about can get harder as they get older. So it’s best to start the trend of being active during playtimes when they’re young; get outside, work up a sweat, and have a laugh with your kids! Prove to them just how fun playing a game of soccer or your own little baseball game can be. Make up your own games with silly rules and random bits of garden equipment that’ll put the kids’ imagination into overdrive. And you can take this indoors as well; soft play items, making your own dough, coloring books – if it uses their hands, it’s good for them.
Go on Adventures Together
Another good way to get the kids out and about, if you take off on hikes or into the woods together, you can encourage their natural sense of adventure. Show them the world and explain to them how it works; talk about trees and leaves, critters and bugs, and then send them off to find a few things to bring back to you. Indeed, the more time you spend outside together, the more they’re going to love being out there. So if you’ve been looking for an excuse to go camping, this is the sign you’ve been looking for!
Set a Routine
And finally, it’s best to set a routine for all of the things above. Do them on a regular basis week by week, and make sure weekends are fun-filled times that get the kids moving and munching on their veggies. You’ll also fall easily into the habit yourself if you take part in the routine, and make sure it works for both your’s and your children’s schedule. If you’re worried about that, just take some time to experiment to truly get this balance right.
Being healthy doesn’t have to be hard – you just need to make a habit from day one.