1. Make Sure Your Kids Have a Proper Breakfast
Breakfast sets the stage for the rest of the day. It gives a child the needed energy to pay attention in school and tackle the day. Cutting back here is a big mistake. Don't let your kid rush out the door with a can of soda and a bag of chips. A proper breakfast is filled with good proteins like eggs and low-fat milk, healthy carbohydrates like oats and whole grains, and vitamins like grapefruits and berries.
2. Shop Healthy
Buying organic food is great but it can break your budget. With a little practice, smart shopping at a regular grocery store is more than satisfactory. The key is to buy as much fresh, perishable, and unpackaged food as possible. Lean away from plastic sealed, pre-packaged, preservative and chemical-laden foods. Read ingredient labels and if the contents sound too complicated, it's probably not a healthy choice for your family.
Shopping smart is key.
3. Cook Food at Home Whenever Possible
Busy lifestyles and tight budgets have practically pushed food preparation into extinction. In its place are fast food restaurants where it's all about the cheapest ingredients, high fat, and deep frying. The fact is preparing food fresh from scratch is the healthiest way, plus it's an activity the whole family can participate in and have fun with.
4. Make Sure You Know What Your Kid is Eating at School and Teach Them to Snack Smart
Lunch meals are a big part of a child's day. Knowing what they are eating and putting in their bodies is critical to their health. Be sure you take a little time to find out and if you don't like what you see, be a squeaky hinge and try to push for healthy changes. If you feel powerless, know you are not alone. Band together with other interested parents and create an independent parent group that oversees what the schools are feeding your children. Candies and pre-packaged sweet baked goods are not healthy but having them once in a while is not the end of the world and almost unavoidable. The trick is to educate your kids on healthier snack choices and, whenever possible, prepare some to take with them to school. Snacks like fresh fruit (apples, bananas, pears, peaches, etc.), trail-mix (nuts, raisins, dates, figs, etc.), yogurt, celery with peanut butter, and carrot sticks with salad dressing, are just a few of the many possibilities.
5. Encourage kids to Join In After-School Athletics and/or Partake in Community Center Activities
Schools are filled with opportunities to join in team and intramural sports like basketball, football, soccer baseball, and others. Girls have soccer, field hockey, cheerleading, and others. Even joining the marching band is great physical activity for your child. Just be sure to try and be as much a part of the experience as possible. Make it to as many games as possible and cheer them on. Community centers like the Boys and Girls Clubs of America have terrific after-school activities like swimming, gymnastics, martial arts, and more. The supervision is excellent and their fees are usually quite reasonable.
Physical activity is important.
6. Encourage Kids to Have Little Physical "Jobs" to Get Done EveryDay
This encourages an active and physical life from early on and can begin at a surprisingly young age. To earn allowance, extra pay, or simply to be part of the family unit, kids should have a clear set of physical activities they need to accomplish as part of their day. Taking out the garbage, setting the table for dinner, cleaning up after dinner, walking the dog, cleaning up after the cat, and picking up after themselves are all examples.
7. Have a Family Fitness Time and Be Physically Competitive
A planned family fitness time where everyone participates in an activity that has everyone up and out of their chairs is a great way to encourage a healthy lifestyle. Even once each week can make a big difference. Family fitness time can be as complex as a softball game in the park or as simple as a bike ride, hike, or long walk. Even a game of musical chairs which does not even require leaving the house qualifies nicely. Kids love to compete against their siblings, but it's especially fun when they can try and out-do Mom or Dad. There are few things more motivating than healthy competition. It's human nature to try and rise to a challenge. Set aside some time to see how many push-ups or sit-ups everyone can do. Make a chart, set some goals for each individual, and crown a monthly champion!
Dancing is a great example of a physical activity.
8. Make Sure Gym Class is Part of Your Child's Curriculum at School
Too many schools have pushed aside gym and made it non-mandatory for children in response to the pressures on schools to push kids toward better grades and test scores. The problem is that this goes directly against the scientific facts that physically active children do better in school. Don't let your school get away with it. Find out what's going on there and get involved, making sure that every child gets the essential time to let loose, run, jump, and play.
9. Try and Have a Structured Bedtime
Poor sleeping habits and inconsistent bedtimes are a prerequisite to low physical activity, poor school performance, and bad health. You can't expect your kids to have a healthy physical lifestyle when they are tired all the time. Younger kids should go to bed at or near the same time each night, while older kids should have a rigid curfew.
10. Encourage the Sporting Life and LEAD BY EXAMPLE
Find out what your child is interested in that requires physical activity and encourage them. Often overlooked activities as simple as skipping rope, playing hopscotch, skateboarding, playing catch, or just about anything else your child is excited about, is fair game. As a parent, being excited and entertained by your child's participation in these types of activities underscores for them the importance and makes them love it even more. We can't expect our children to make healthy food choices and be physically active if we don't practice what we preach.
Article by Dr. Carlon Colker
