Help Your Children Get Healthy Habits

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HELPING CHILDREN HAVE HEALTHY HABITS

Encourage them to think about making good choices, for food they eat and exercises.

  1. Be a good role model: none of us are prefect, and we don’t have to be prefect all the time, but if our children see us trying to eat right and getting good physical activity-you’ll send a message that it is important to your family and they will want to follow.
  2. Get the whole family moving-Plan times for physical activity such as walks, ride bikes, swimming or even gardening and playing hide and seek outside.
  3. Limit TV, video games and computer time-these habits are sedentary and partnered with snacking increases risk of obesity. Try to limit these to 2 hours per day.
  4. Make dinnertime a family time-sitting down together to eat helps kids to eat the right foods and discourages snacking. Getting the kids involved in helping to plan and prepare the meal is also a good way to teach them good eating habits.
  5. Pick truly rewarding rewards-Try not to reward children with video games and snacks, try a trip to the playground instead.
  6. Stay Involved-Be an advocate, insist on healthy food choices at school, make sure the pediatrician is monitoring BMI, B/P and cholesterol. (Body Mass Index-For children and teens, BMI is age- and sex-specific and is often referred to as BMI-for-age)

5 Important Points To Remember

  1. Be a good role model: none of us are prefect, and we don’t have to be prefect all the time, but if our children see us trying to eat right and getting good physical activity-you’ll send a message that it is important to your family and they will want to follow.
  2. Get the whole family moving-Plan times for physical activity such as walks, ride bikes, swimming or even gardening and playing hide and seek outside.
  3. Limit TV, video games and computer time-these habits are sedentary and partnered with snacking increases risk of obesity. Try to limit these to 2 hours per day.
  4. Make dinnertime a family time-sitting down together to eat helps kids to eat the right foods and discourages snacking. Getting the kids involved in helping to plan and prepare the meal is also a good way to teach them good eating habits.
  5. Michael Brockers, DT St. Louis RAMS says “While watching TV, get up and do some sort of exercise during the commercial break!”