Best Health Habits for Your Kids

We love our kids and our top priority is keeping them safe and healthy. We pass on to them our genes but also our habits. They pick up on our behavior and oftentimes imitate us, for better or for worse.

Today, more than ever, it's easy to make sure your kids are healthy and more importantly ingrain healthy habits to stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Show your kids you care and love them by sharing these well-being routines and practices with them. These are easy to implement changes from your current habits and activities to start NOW. Your kids will feel more energetic, their nutrition will make a turn for the better, their relationships will strengthen and they'll adopt lifelong habits to enhance their health and positive outlook.

Stop With the Sodas

Start drinking water and have your kids drink water too. Don't allow soda in the house or at least don't set it on the dinner table during mealtime. Soft drinks contain excessive amounts of sugar and do not provide nutrients. Water, the obvious alternative is healthy and vital.

Make Them Move Getting off the couch and out the door will do everyone good. Turn off the TV and take a walk together, sign your kids up for an after-school dance class or have them throw a football around with their friends. Kids who watch more than two hours of TV a day are at a greater risk for problems like social difficulties, excessive weight gain, trouble sleeping or falling asleep and even impaired school performance. Not fun!

Bonkers Over BreakfastThis is a great habit to instill now. Show your kids that breakfast is key for their brains and energy and it helps keep them strong. Whether they are rushed in the morning or not, make the effort to get them to eat something, especially if it's a fiber-rich meal that will decrease the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Research shows that starting the day without breakfast correlated with four times the likelihood of obesity.

Tasty TintsWe eat with our eyes, that goes especially for kids. Offer your kids foods of different colors. For them it's fun but actually, it has health benefits too. Make an effort to offer your kids a range of fruits and vegetables of different colors - green, white, yellow, red, orange, even blue.

Focus on FriendsSchool-aged children need friendships for healthy development, according to the published research. Valuable social skills such as communication and problem solving are learned while playing with friends and these may even affect and improve their performance at school.

Help your kids make these connections with others around them. Encourage them to meet and play and gain valuable life skills they'll be able to draw in future years.

Resonating ResilienceBuilding your kids' healthy self-esteem is no easy feat but it's crucial for their well being. It's easy for them to get discouraged but learning resilience after setbacks is important for staying positive. This leads to better relationships in the future.

Help your kids keep their heads up by teaching them they are strong, unique, loved and are capable to tackle the challenges ahead.

Screens and SleepSleep in crucial for everyone. Kids require a good night's sleep for natural growth and development. Screen time before bed can affect your child's sleep and may hinder it. Screens can stimulate instead of wind down, blue light from phones and tablets might suppress melatonin and delay the feeling of drowsiness and being connected online may tempt your child to chat with friends or play games. Avoiding screen time an hour before bedtime allows kids to naturally fall asleep easily and sleep soundly through the night.

This is the time to make these changes for your kids, for yourself and your family.

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