Raising healthy, happy kids is a natural concern for any parent, especially as you watch your child grow. The goal of your child’s upbringing is to prepare them for the inevitable struggles and challenges that they are going to face as adults.
Parents will want their children to have a happy childhood. However, it should not be confused with providing them with fleeting pleasures. If you want to protect their physical and mental wellbeing, you might need to avoid instant gratification and make decisions that will benefit them in the long term.
Parents will play a major role in their children’s health, habits, and happiness. Provide them the best start in life by reading the following advice on how to raise healthy, happy kids.
In This Article
Encourage Physical Activity
Your children might be more than happy to relax on the sofa watching TV, scrolling through their phones, or playing video games. However, they must experience at least one hour of physical activity per day to remain fit and healthy.
While an hour might seem a lot, you can encourage short bursts of exercise throughout the day. Look for ways to encourage your kids up off the sofa, as you could:
- Go for a walk together
- Play chase
- Play hopscotch
- Challenge them to a dance-off
Also, you must encourage outdoor play, as you could provide them with a climbing frame, a soccer goal, a trampoline, or a swing.
Sit Down to Dinner Together
Various studies have found that sitting down for dinner as a family can help adolescents develop a positive outlook. For this reason, you must ensure you sit down at the table together at least once per week.
Look for delicious, healthy recipes that will encourage your son or daughter out of their bedroom. For example, your children will love orange and ginger salmon with roasted vegetables and potatoes. It will also ensure they enjoy all three macronutrients on their plate, which are the basic components of a healthy diet.
However, you must ensure any meat or fish is cooked through before serving. For instance, you can avoid food poisoning by checking the internal temp of salmon before adding it to your child’s plate.
Set Limits for Screen Time
You might think your eight-year old only spends an hour playing video games or watching TV. But could he be spending three hours, four hours, or more? One of the most common reasons parents say their children can’t stop playing or watching something is because they don’t have limits placed on how much time they spend on these activities.
While information and fun are important, many experts now agree that too much technology time can affect the psychological health of children. Find out parental control apps there you can set screen time limit of your children.
Raise happy, healthy children by setting limits for screen time. For example, establish rules for playing computer games, using a tablet, or watching mobile phone. Tearing them away from their devices will also encourage your child to spend time on more productive tasks, such as homework, reading, or playing sports.
Encourage Your Kids to Help Others
According to a 2010 study, people who performed acts of kindness for ten days felt significantly happier. Raise happy, positive children by encouraging your kids to help others when possible.
For example, they could:
- Donate a percentage of their allowance to a charitable cause
- Volunteer their time at a non-profit organization
- Send handmade cards to loved ones, nursing home residents, or poorly patients
- Find ways to raise money for charity
So, encourage your kids to get their body moving, give back to their community, and spend time with their family. It could provide them with a healthy, happy childhood, which could help them grow into kind, positive, and well-rounded adults.
