It is said “To change your life, you must change your habit”. Isn’t it true? Especially with your little ones, with each passing day they learn and develop their physical and mental skills, don’t you think it is the right time to inculcate healthy habits for kids?
Also habits are hard to be broken, that’s why, the sooner we build healthy good habits in life, the easier to keep practicing them. Also it is easier to resist the bad habits in this way when they grow up. As a parent it becomes your responsibility to pass on the good habits to your kids and that cannot happen unless you follow them. Kids pick up the good or bad habits from you! Your child’s habits start with you as a parent. The most important thing is to become a role model yourself to influence your kids with the right things in life. Not just to build a pathway for their overall success but also a healthy lifestyle by preventing infections and keeping the illness at bay. As a responsible parent, teach them to follow the healthy habits essentially the ones we have listed for you below.
Best Healthy Habits For Kids:
We have simplified the important good habits for children that need to be inculcated into their daily routine:
1. Wash Up!
This you might have already known that undoubtedly will top the list of healthy habit for kids. But we will also explain why this is so important in our daily lives and how to do it right. Focus on the correct technique for the best result of washing hands with soap or liquid. Do it for 20 seconds and teach your kids how to rub the hands together. Rinsing it well after the wash is even more important as you do not want your kid to be consuming the soap! They must follow this every time before and after the meal and especially once they come back home from playing outdoors to prevent the kids getting any infection.
2. Never skip Breakfast:
This is not just for the kids but for the elders too. The breakfast is the first meal of your day which must not be avoided. Put your kids into a regular routine of 3 meals a day breakfast-lunch-dinner and ask them to avoid snacking during the odd hours. The most crucial and important stage is when they kid learns to eat, Ah! We know that pain and worry. A nutritious breakfast helps you to keep your day energetic and active throughout. Tell kids that breakfast is the healthiest meal and that it keeps them strong and away from diseases. Also another very important reason to have a healthy breakfast every morning is to reduce the risk of diabetes and obesity as the high fiber content in most of the breakfast helps you to keep healthy.
3. Tissue Toss:
We know that parents teach kids to use a tissue or kerchief when they sneeze or cough, but what about the disposal of that infected tissue? Teach your kid to dispose the tissue right away and make them realize why. Keep a dustbin in your kid’s room as well and habituate them to use it for the right thing. Tell them using the tissue after sneezing would spread the infection to other kids and family members. Thus they must dispose it and very importantly, wash their hands immediately after. Let them know how the germs pass from one kid to another and how it affects health. These are basic healthy habits that kids must know to keep hygiene and stay healthy.
4. Push the Flush!
Good that you gave you kid some toilet training, but it is also important that the kid flushes down his efforts. Educate them to push the flush after every use especially when you are not around. They must know to use the toilet properly for hygienic reasons.
5. Screen Limits:
Your kids are in a technologically advanced world with so many gadgets around. Thanks to the mobile phones and tablets that kids are glued to now a days! Television and computers are another few things that take away kid’s interest to play outdoors. Explain to your kids the disadvantages of looking into a screen and advantages of playing outdoors and indulging in activities. A very good idea to get them out of house is to have a pet. They can take the pet to a walk or do some running outdoors. Encourage them to play with other kids in the garden and if they get bored, let them give you a hand in the household chores too! Car washing, cleaning the yard, gardening and many such activities for kids could be fun. Keeping them active and interested in outdoor tasks is your job to do as a parent.
6. Reading Habit:
We understand that kids do go to school and learn to read and write. But how many of them are excited about it? You must make sure they are happy doing it so that they continue to read and learn throughout their lives. Read to them interesting bedtime stories or go to the library with them. Help them developing their motor skills and strong reading skills to succeed in their school and work.
7. Family Time:
More than anything, them to realize family time is very crucial. Especially for the growing baby, they must be taught to sit together for dinner with the family to eat and talk. This way they are not only less prone to snacking and grabbing unwanted food but also enjoy time with parents and connect to them better.
8. Eating Habits:
We know that parents face a lot of troubles in this particular section and hence we have an elaborate list to help you with.
- Avoid soda, drink enough water: Kids are falling prey to the very unhealthy drinks which lead to several health problems. Make sure your kid does not drink soda, rather prefer to drink a lot of water. water is vital for kids to grow.
- Eat less sugar: the kids love chocolates and candies which has enough sugar to cause obesity in kids. Also causes chronic diseases due to added sugar.
- Fruits and Vegetables: Fruits and vegetables must account to half of your kid’s diet. Increasing consumption of these in all forms and varieties helps them build stronger immunity and lower the risks of cancer or other problems. A balanced diet comes naturally to kids when they consume half their meal as fruits and vegetables. It helps them with the required nutrients and fiber for the body to keep growing.
- Protein rich diet: Protein forms the main content for the kid’s growth for brain and body! Thus it could be obtained only from specific foods like chicken, seafood, dairy products, eggs, beans, peas, nuts or seeds. All are good protein sources and should be included in your kid’s diet compulsorily.
- Limit the processed food: Processed food is unhealthy for many reasons as it is pre-made and not very fresh, also packaged with preservatives and chemicals along with some food dyes and added fats and sugar to store it longer with extended shelf life. Children who eat excess of these have a potential risk of obesity and poor health as they compromise on their daily intake of vegetables and fruits. Preparing fresh food by making it from scratch and making it healthy for your growing kid is the best way to keep them healthy.
9. Promote Healthy Teeth Habits:
Brushing the teeth twice has an important reason behind its implementation. Dental hygiene is a must. Only the milk teeth get replaced and that also only once in life. When the tooth is decayed and gone, it is gone forever! You cannot regrow it. Tell your kids to brush each day after the meal especially at night. Kids tend to snack a lot and they need to keep it clean to avoid any cavities which are the most common thing among children. Best healthy habit for kids includes brushing twice a day to avoid decay and cavities in their teeth. Lesser fluoride content toothpaste must be used by kids and they must always flush their mouth well after each meal. Especially teach them not to eat anything after brushing their teeth at night.
10. Sleep and Rejuvenate:
Although the babies start their lives from sleeping all day as they grow up, from 5 to 12 years of age, they still need 10 to 11 hours of peaceful sleep at night to maintain good health. Kids must have a sleeping schedule and irrespective of your sleeping time at night, they must go off to bed at the same time each day. This helps them to keep up the good fresh mood the next day along with being more attentive in classes and build good immunity.
11. Protect eyes and skin from sun:
Although we know to apply sunscreen to the kids when they go out in sun for longer hours, did we at all know that their eyes are also vulnerable to the UV rays of the sun? We must protect the eyes as well to make sure to keep it healthy. Exposing kids to sunlight is equally important but not during the peak hours of 10 AM -4 PM.
12. Cleaning Private Parts:
Now that your kid is grown be it a girl or a boy, educate them to keep their genitals clean by washing it with soap and water regularly. For boys make sure that the foreskin in not retracted. For the daughters teach them about tissue wipes and how to use it – from front to back and not vice versa as it might lead to infections. Tell the kids to come to you immediately if they have any irritation, pain or burning sensation down there.
Let us know if this article helped you to inculcate good habits in your children. Write to us on what more do you think is important which is not covered here. We love to hear from you, keep reading and sharing!
