- Top Ten Ways to Help Children Develop Healthy Habits
- Hand Washing
- Breakfast
- Cold weather
Top Ten Ways to Help Children Develop Healthy Habits
1. Be a positive role model. If you're practicing healthy habits, it's a
lot easier to convince children to do the same.
2. Get the whole family active. Plan times for everyone to get moving
together. Take walks, ride bikes, go swimming, garden or just play hide-and-
go-seek outside. Everyone will benefit from the excercise and the time
together.
3. Limit TV, video game and computer time. These habits lead to a sedentary
lifestyle and excessive snacking, which increase risks fro obesity and
cardiovascular disease.
4. Encourage physical activities that children really enjoy. Every child is
unique. Let children experiment with different activities until each finds
something that he or she really loves doing. They'll stick with it longer
if they love it.
5. Be supportive. Focus on the positive instead of the negative. Everyone
likes to be praised for a job well done. Celebrate successes and help
children and teens develop a good self-image.
6. Set specific goals and limits, such as one hour of physical activity a
day or two desserts per week other than fruit. When goals are too abstract
or limits too restrictive, the chance for success decreases.
7. Don't reward children with food. Candy and snacks as a reward encourage
bad habits. Find other ways to celebrate good behavior.
8. Make dinnertime a family time. When everyone sits down together to eat,
there's less chance of children eating the wrong foods or snacking too
much. Get the kids involved in cooking and planning meals. Everyone
develops good eating habits together and the quality time with the family
will be an added bonus.
9. Make a game of rading food labels. The whole family will learn what's
good for their health and be more conscious of what they eat. It's a habit
that helps change behavior for a lifetime.
10. Stay involved. Be an advocate for healthier children. Insist on good
food choices at school. Make sure your children's healthcare providers are
monitoring cardiovascular indicators like BMI, blood pressure and
cholesterol. Contact public officials on matters of the heart. Make your
voice heard.
Hand Washing
Remind your child to thoroughly wash his or her hands long enough so that he
or she could sing "Happy Birthday." It has been recognized that it takes
this amount of time to clean the hands of dirt and germs. Clean hands are
the first defense against illness.
Breakfast
Breakfast stil lremains the most important meal of the day. A child who has
breakfast not only feels better, but performs better in school.
Cold weather
Please remember that the children go outside most days for recess and need
to be appropriately dressed. This includes a coat, gloves, hats and scarves.
