Think beyond the little aches and pains and sneezes and runny noses when incorporating a healthy planner for your family. Think on the lines of nutritious foods, regular workouts and quality time, to get the family on a health bandwagon.
Here is a quick guide to get your family’s health sorted:
Eat At Least One Meal As A Family
You would have heard the clichéd family-that-eats-together saying, but have you made it a part of your family’s daily routine? Eating at least one healthy meal a day together does have a big impact on the fitness level of your family. For, research has shown that eating, say, a dinner together, means better food habits and even lower levels of obesity. The idea behind eating a meal together is ensuring that it is home-cooked and eaten on the dining table – not in front of the television set. This means less chance of overeating and more chance of tucking into nutritious food, especially if parents set the example for the little ones in the family.
Make Breakfast A Routine
Even if time is a constraint, breakfast ought to become an important routine for every member of the house. It should be seen as an automated task, where each member of the family knows just how to fix the morning meal. A bowl of oatmeal or breakfast cereals with the morning cuppa or a glass of fresh juice would be the easiest to put together. Weekends could be more elaborate.
Workout Everyday
Getting your children to workout could be as simple as getting them to play a game outdoors or even indoors; one that has them stretch and work up a sweat. If indoors, it could even become a family activity for just about 20 minutes or so. A simple workout, incorporating stretching exercises, should help your body get out of the day-long stress. If nothing, simply go out for a walk in the neighbourhood, with children in tow. Giving every member of the house an activity tracker might prove to be a big boost to get everyone moving and competing with each other. According to a study, 12,000 to 15,000 steps a day is a healthy goal for children in the 6 to 12 years group.
Stock Your Home With Healthy Snacks
Inculcating healthy habits becomes easy when the snacks lying in the fridge or the pantry are healthy and nutritious. Children who love to snack in between meals or while watching television will know the limitations as far as foods are concerned. It is advisable to stock the fridge with fresh fruits and salad items, and the pantry with crackers and nuts, instead of chips and fries.
Buy Healthy Products
When making healthy choices for the family, ensure that your shopping complements that vision. The reference here is not just to your healthy grocery shopping; spread that health concept to other facets of your family’s life too. Like sun protection cream that is right for children as well as adults, moisturisers and even clothes that are essential for the season.
Establish Bed Time Habits
With school going children in the house, setting a time for the bed is a given, but that is not the only habit to give sleep a healthy tone. Bedtime story telling is an expression of togetherness – just a picture of children lying on the bed and listening to an adult member of the family narrating a story from the book or mind can evoke a warm feeling of togetherness. Make this storytelling a routine and ensure that the children are tucked into bed and are in the land of the nod before you switch the lights off. If there are teens in the house, a little chat to ensure all is well in their lives is very important. It will inculcate a sense of belongingness and reassure feelings of security. As for you and other adults in the family, make it a habit to resolve any issues that you may have before you retire for the bed. You will not only sleep easy, you will wake up refreshed and ready to face the world.