Is Your Family As Healthy as Can Be?

When you become a parent, your first thought at all times is for your children. Are they sleeping enough? Are they getting enough stimulation and activity? Are they happy and secure? One of the biggest questions parents have about their children is whether they are healthy. Health is a big topic wherever you go, from food to exercise to the specific strain of the flu virus that goes around that year. Ensuring your children are healthy is going to start with you as a parent, as you are the person in control of their eating habits and their exercise. A healthy child is one who has a healthy support system around them, and if you are the driving force of health, then you can ensure your entire family can enjoy a healthy lifestyle together. 

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The first thing that you have to know to be able to optimize the health of your children, is how to be healthy yourself. To live healthily, you have to cook in a healthy manner, so asking yourself ‘what is the best cast-iron skillet?’ to cook delicious meats and fish is a good place to start! Healthy cooking means using healthy methods and it’s these methods that will make the difference as to whether the food you cook is going to ensure your family is getting the nutrients that they need. You have to have a team approach to health when you are working together as a family. If you’re all on the same page and all eating the same meals (allergies and taste aside), then you’re far more likely to have success with healthy eating. While we’re on the subject of healthy eating, do it as a family. From the shopping list to the weekly ‘menu’ that you cook up, allow the children to have input. If they’re fans of ‘freezer foods’ that come boxed and packaged, then you can cheat and make your own versions. Pizzas can be made and frozen. Fish fingers can be made with proper cod and breaded and herbs of your choice. You can still have convenience foods, just by bulk cooking their favorites!

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As a family, you can also exercise together. Health doesn’t just stop at the food that you all eat, it’s about movement, too. The trick to doing regular exercise together is to make it fun! Trampolining on a Saturday morning or swimming twice a week while the kids take swimming lessons is a perfect way to get involved, even when you’re not by their side. You can also map out hikes in the local woods and do exciting trails with a picnic on a sunny day. Be creative with your methods, here, because your children need to stay interested. Sick of walking? Get the bicycles out of the garage and use those instead. Bored of swimming? Why not go one better and learn to dive? There’s no end of choices when it comes to staying active and raring to go.

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Eating together as a family is another way to ensure the health of your family as a unit. Eating together at each mealtime creates an emotional harmony that encourages family time as well as encourages good eating habits. This type of care taken by families is also a great way to get their opinions of the food that you’ve all made together. If you are the sort of family that will have ‘self-serve’ options when it comes to meals, you can openly encourage trying new foods and talk about the food and exercise you could do together for the next week. When you sit together as a family, you create a happy atmosphere that lets your children feel secure within themselves. Children are naturally curious and will always ask questions and want to be involved in every aspect of their lives. Capitalize on their curiosity and get them interested in food and health.

Parenting and healthy living can go hand in hand, and it’s up to you to be able to promote that lifestyle to them. If you live a life of moderation, then so will your children. This is going to mean that you do more for your family than you could have anticipated. Take them grocery shopping and let them smell and feel the fruit and vegetables that they can try. Maximize on their excitement with learning new things and bring it to the home so that it becomes a part of their day to day living. Health can be fun, you just have to show them how.