Healthy Choices Will Help You and Your Family
By Rachel Shouse
In order for your family to function well, they need to be well taken care of. You're included in that because you can't take the best care of them if you're not taking proper care of yourself. Watching what you eat, getting plenty of exercise, and maintaining a healthy routine can make a huge difference in your family's lives.
Healthy Eating as a Family
Most parents tell their children why it's important for them to eat their fruits and vegetables. Some kids may need more than your encouraging words for that lesson to finally sink in. Kids learn best by example. Kids ask for everything you're eating. If that just so happens to be something healthy, you may have killed two birds with one stone. You've eaten healthy and so did your child.
There are more ways to involve the whole family. Make cooking dinner a family task. This can be hard when you have kids who may be too little, but the bigger kids would love it. You could pass the younger ones off to their other parent or distract them with some favorite toys while the older kids help you prepare their food. Having the kids help tends to give them a sense of pride over what they're eating and are more willing to give it a try.
Getting Exercise as a Family
Working out as a family can be a lot of fun. Obviously kids love movement and parents really should take advantage of that. Even older children have plenty of energy and should join in. Making a routine of an evening walk after dinner or playing some football out in the yard would be a great way for you and your family to get a little exercise.
Making it fun is how you're going to get your children to love exercising. Younger and older children alike love to play red light/green light while you're going for a walk. Have the kids race or look for certain items along the sidewalk and whoever finds it first wins. Just think of what your children enjoy doing and try to find a way to incorporate that or something similar.
Maintaining a Healthy Family Routine
Everyone knows that they should brush their teeth and take regular showers, but kids need to be taught that. The best way to teach your kids is by doing it. Create a nightly routine or a morning routine to start off with. Try to think of ways that they could be independent as well. The more they're able to do on their own, the less you have to do.
Implementing all of these may seem a bit overwhelming. If that's the case, take just one of these at a time. Talk with your spouse or children and see if they have any ideas. After all, it's everyone's routine, not just yours.
To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Santa Rosa, Calif.