Have you ever wondered how other parents are raising such fit kids? And also pondering how you planted couch potatoes?
We all want our children to lead a long and healthy life. The best way to achieve this is to raise them to believe that a healthy lifestyle is something normal. It is easy to pass on a healthy lifestyle to your child if you are already in the habit of eating and living healthy. In fact, it is almost inevitable. We all know that having a healthy habit is the key to a healthy lifestyle. Once you make the change, your new habit will become as easy as your current lifestyle is now.
Importance of outdoor fun
Physical activity is important for both children and adults, and in order to acquire healthy habits as a child, kids should first be introduced to sports through play and socializing. This will have a positive effect on their growth and development. To make this shift easy for the whole family, you could find some games and toys that you can all enjoy together outside. There are various fun outdoor toys that you could use, such as these at this site that are even divided into age-appropriate groups.
Children spend as much time at the desk and in the school classroom as adults at work. When they finish school, they go home and do their homework. This practice may be good for academic learning, but most parents will agree that children need more time in nature. Running, sunlight and fresh air all have beneficial effects on children’s immunity.
Games outside are good for immunity
Fit kids are physically active outside, which, we all know, is good for health. Outside conditions and airborne allergens, insects and everything else around them enhances children’s immunity and reduces the risk of allergic diseases.
Research shows that spending a lot of time in the sun reduces anxiety and physical and mental stress. Outdoor games are not governed by strict rules free children from feeling that they have to adhere to certain rules. This in return reduces their stress levels.
Children who spend most of their daily lives indoors are at increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. Children who don’t go out often are also at risk of slower social development, high levels of stress and lack of cognitive skills. They often have difficulty learning new things, accompanied by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Depression, anxiety and impaired vision are also the results of lack of time for outdoor games and fun.
A proven stimulant for good mood
Physical movement and sun exposure help the body increase its dopamine and endorphin levels, which are the body’s natural neurotransmitters. A small walk or a short outdoor trip can lift your child’s mood simply and uniquely.
Physical activity and the ability to explore new things give fit kids a sense of positivity. These feelings can be transmitted to other parts of their lives besides giving them joy.
For all these reasons parents need to put daily outdoor play at the top of their priority list. Their children will not only have fun in expressing themselves but also develop basic social, cognitive and behavioral skills that will help them throughout life.
Fit Kids Enjoy Healthy eating
At the heart of a healthy life is a healthy diet. You know perfectly well what foods are healthy and no one has to lecture you about it. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, good sources of protein, a little salt, and refined sugars, not too much fat and, if possible, no saturated fat. Seems complicated? It really isn’t once you get used to it.
1. Do not keep unhealthy foods in the house
The fact is your kid will have to eat an apple if it can’t find a bag of chips or biscuits. If the bread runs out or if its quantity is limited, it will not be able to eat jam and will have to take a banana or a fresh carrot. If there is no Coke, it will have to drink juice or water. Of course, your kids will cry when you introduce a new regime, but they won’t be able to do anything about it. And in a very short time, such a regime will become their habit.
It’s not a good idea for kids to grow up thinking that every meal should end with something sweet. It is much better to put the plate away after eating the risotto, steak, and salad and to think that lunch was great than to always think that something else is missing. If your child wants to eat some fruit at the end of the meal, this is, of course, perfectly fine. That can be a great habit.
2. Give them a variety of healthy meals
It is usually the case that we give our kids a variety of healthy food at first. But as they enter the second year of life, they begin to express their opinions about food. After the third fight about persuading your kid to eat spinach, it becomes easier to simply stop cooking spinach. The same goes for broccoli, or anything else. Slowly, without even noticing, the food choice narrows.
You should serve new dishes with vegetables or other supplements. Try to prepare meals that will attract kids because they look fun. For example, serve pieces of boiled vegetables and give each child a bowl of cheese sauce that they can dip those vegetables into. That way they will eat vegetables that they otherwise wouldn’t.
When your kids stop demanding their favorite unhealthy meals at least half a week and instead they start eating something different, you will know that you succeeded.
3. Establish healthy eating patterns
Unless you are vegetarian, your goal should be to give your kids meat at most three or four times a week, and fish at least once a week. On other days they should accept meat-free meals as something completely normal.
Make sure to have food in a variety of colors on the plate, especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables. That way you will help children receive a wider variety of nutrients, and they will have more fun.
If meals during the workweek are mostly prepared in a hurry, start experimenting only on weekends. Your goal should be to prepare new meals during the workweek.
The Bottom Line: Raising Fit Kids is Easier Than You Think
So the parents of those fit kids follow a simple, inexpensive plan to keep their kids healthy. In most cases, they strike a balance between fresh air and a healthy eating program. While lifestyle changes take time, stick with it! In time, you and your kiddos will benefit from embracing a fitter lifestyle.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and a sweet toy fox terrier. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
This blog celebrates all things home.
