Easy Ways to Encourage Healthy Kids
By Brandi Goodman
It can be difficult at times for kids to choose the healthy option. Many would prefer the unhealthy choice if presented with it. However, there are lots of easy ways to encourage kids to be healthier and help them make smarter choices.
Offer Cough Drop Suckers
Kids with colds can be hard to care for. The constant cough, snotty mess, and difficulty breathing can be hard for a parent to help a young child handle. Offer cough drop suckers. Cough drops work well to reduce the bark and calm the lungs for a while, but small children can choke on them easily. Having them on a sucker stick makes them easier for young ones to handle and still get the benefits.
Involve Them in the Meal Making
Some kids struggle to eat dinner. The meal may not look appetizing to them or they see green and decide not to take a bite. Involving your kids in the meal making process can help them feel better about what they're eating. They helped make it and will feel proud themselves, so it will make them more likely to want to try it out.
Plan Physical Family Activities
Your children won't be as apt to get up and exercise if they never see you doing it. Plan some physical family activities so everyone is getting up and moving together. It's a great way to bond and ensure everybody is getting the exercise they need. Even something as simple as a dance party in the living room can work wonders.
Park Away From Entrances
Don't park in the nearest space to the entrance of the store or building you're visiting. Instead, park as far away as possible so the whole family has a longer walk to take. It will only add a couple minutes to your trip, yet offer some good exercise in the process.
Provide Whole Foods
It's easy to grab pre-packaged snacks off the shelves and offer individually-wrapped treats to your kids. They work well on the go. However, these processed items are not healthy to consume on the regular. You need to be providing whole foods that offer the necessary nutrition. Bananas, apples, carrots, grapes, blueberries, and more fruits and vegetables make the best snack choices.
There's plenty of ways you can encourage your kids to be healthy. Whether they're sick at the time and you need to find a way to help them get better, or you just want to encourage healthy habits on any given day, these easy methods can help you meet your goal.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Wilmington, N.C.