We all want the best for our children, and this means that we work hard giving them the things in life we think they need, but when we do this, we can run the risk of doing too much for them. The best way to raise healthy and happy children is to incorporate healthy habits that they can maintain throughout their life. If you can help your child develop healthy habits early on in life, they will feel the benefits forevermore. Here are a few things to get you started.
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Encourage Your Children to Read Food Labels
Something that we all forget to do, but that meal that may appear healthy on the surface could hide an abundance of sugar. Many pediatric dental care providers will help you to look after your child’s teeth and reduce sugar intake by avoiding sweet foods and juices, but it’s important to recognize where sugar could be hiding. It’s not always just in the sweet stuff!
Focus on the Positives
If we use an abundance of negative language and tell children what they cannot do, we have to remember to rephrase and re-frame by telling them what they can do instead. Keeping everything positive will have a big impact on our children’s mindset. When they have a more positive attitude to solving a problem, rather than thinking they cannot do it, learning to solve a problem through trial and error, and giving them the right tools to solve problems will make them feel they can accomplish anything. Positivity is so important, and one little thing you can do with the end of every single day is to encourage practicing gratitude, as this helps them to focus on the good things, even if they think they had a bad day.
Choose Real Rewards
We have to find ways to celebrate good behavior beyond sweet foods and video games. While screen time can be beneficial, it is important to focus on the motivation factors based on their age. Finding a system that works will make a massive difference.
Focus on Family Time
Families don’t always spend time together anymore, but if you can focus on making one part of the day family time, it reinforces that idea of togetherness. The best example is dinnertime. You could help your children get involved with making the meals, everybody doing the dishes together, and that quality family time around the table is very beneficial for the family.
Be Realistic
You have to be aware that they are going to be pushbacks. You may feel that you’ve got to invest yourself wholeheartedly in giving your children healthy habits, but this can mean you are overdoing it. It’s important to remember that you need to focus on your health too, as this sets the right example for your children. But if your children aren’t on board with new healthy habits yet, remember to take it small and steady. Gradual changes will make the biggest difference in your children’s health over time, so don’t beat yourself over the head if they don’t get it right away.
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