Being a responsible parent, you want to raise your happy, hearty, and successful kids. But if you ask others about parenting, there is so much advice out there.
Which advice should you consider? Will it help my kid to raise well? Which advice is more reliable?
The whole day so many questions continuously loop around in the mind of parents. So, after considering dozens of scientific articles and journals, I compiled a list of 25 valuable ways to raise healthy kids.
1. Keep Yourself Happy
Emotional issues in parents can be connected to emotional problems in their kids. Moreover, unhappy or depressed people are also less efficient parents.
2. Celebrate with your family
Celebrate every small and big occasion and the thing with your family: A good grade, the first day of school, the end of a busy week, a job promotion, the first day of school, festivals, and holidays. Happy parents lead to happy children, so make every point to celebrate.
3. Focus on your Marriage Life
Families focused on children create apprehensive, demanding, and entitled children and exhausted parents. Unfortunately, as parents, we too quickly sacrifice our personal lives and marriages to raise our kids. Unfortunately, I am not marriage proficient, but the following are tips to strengthen your marriage relationship.
- Greet each other with a jolly smile.
- Appreciate each other.
- Go out for dates.
- Hold each other hands frequently
- Talk with each other for at least half an hour every day.
- Say I love you every day.
4. While Taking with Your Kids, Give Them Equal Attention
One of the powerful ways to keep your kids healthy while raising is to communicate well with them. So it’s imperative to give your kids complete attention whenever they interact with you.
Put your smart devices and newspapers aside, and listen to what they are trying to say. In this way, you encourage your kids to become more communicative and open with you.
5. Always Have Dinner Together
Kids who usually have meals with their families become successful in almost every zone, whether school, outdoor activities or sports. As a result, these kids have greater self-confidence and achieve better grades in their studies. It also reduces the risk of developing psychological issues and is less likely to involve smoking, doing drugs, or drinking.
And all it happens because of regular family meals together!
6. Tell Your Kids How to Control their Emotions
According to John Gottman’s Research, children who can manage their emotions can concentrate on their work better, which is most important for their long-term growth. In addition, these children also have excellent physical health.
To help your kids control their emotions, you should:
- Tell them about emotional self-management
- Understand your children
- Guide your kids that all emotions are considerable, but not all behaviors.
- Concede your kids’ progress.
7. Teach Them About Meaningful Relationships
Jack Shonkoff and Deborah Phillips stated that a solid relationship is essential for kids’ mental growth and well-being. Children deprived of these relationships perform worst in school, usually face trouble with the law, and struggle with psychiatric problems.
A parent should help your child to form meaningful relationships. Respond adequately to your children’s emotional signals. By doing so, your children will believe in themselves, secure and comfortable. It forms the base of self-confidence and self-respect in your child.
You should build trust in your child’s heart and an environment of friendship so that your child share everything with you and you can teach them how to resolve the issues or tackle the conflicts.
8. Set Boundaries
For the success of your children, you as a parent have to set and enforce reasonable limitations and boundaries. Of course, everything in excess is unhealthy. But your children need boundaries to bring out the most of their potential.
9. Enough Sleep
As a per research, children who don’t get sufficient sleep:
- Have more flawed brain functionality.
- Unable to focus well.
- Obese or overweight.
- Less creative
- Failed to manage their emotions
Doesn’t it look scary?
Let your child get enough sleep, schedule a bedtime routine, and reduce exhilarating activities after dinner. Moreover, keep your kids away from the screen at least one or two hours before bedtime. The purpose behind this is that blue light from electronic devices impacts sleep patterns and hinders melatonin production.
10. Concentrate on the Process, Don’t Think About End Result
Parents who exaggerate about success are more likely to bring up some psychological problems in their children.
Focus on the process instead of focusing on achievement. According to Dr. Carol Dweck’s research, children who focus on effort – not on the results – end up with tremendous success in the long term.
So, find out chances to appraise your children’s attitude, good behavior, and efforts to achieve something. Then, as time passes, your children will naturally achieve better results.
11. Give More Time to Play
Give your child more time to play doesn’t indicate iPad games, then how to be playful? It refers to outdoor games and physical activities. Playtime improves the children’s learning capabilities and physical growth. Even research indicates that more indoor games in children slow down body development and cause emotional, physical, and mental well-being issues.
Playtime is also linked to excellent academic performance. So, give your children more time to spend on the ground, and they will do better in their studies. Play is vital for kids’ overall growth and development.
12. Reduce TV Time
Happy people watch less TV as compared to unhappy people. However, according to a study done, over 4,000 teenagers concluded that those who spend more time watching TV are likely to become depressed.
It is all in your hands. You can set a standard for your kids by limiting your TV time. If possible, then have a family discussion on TV-watching guidelines.
13. Let Your Children Make Their Options (including punishment)
A study identified the advantages of allowing children to plan their plans and set their aims. This way, they become more disciplined and focused. Moreover, it helps them to make wiser decisions in the long run.
Besides, allow children to choose their punishments. As a result, children become more discipline and break the rules less frequently. Finally, allow children to pick their sports and outdoor or indoor activities.
So as your child gets older, give him some freedom to make some more choices. It makes them feel happier, confident, and more successful in life.
14. Resolve Your Marriage Conflicts
Couples who have severe conflicts in their marriage can also impact the children’s academic career and emotions and be the cause of abuse of drugs and alcohol.
No surprises. More than 30 percent of the parents are going through major marital issues. It surely hampers the children and makes them less responsible, engaged, and motivated.
If you are struggling with some marriage conflicts for months or years, consult a therapist or counselor. Your marriage and your kids are counting on you.
15. Promote your Kids to Help Others and be Liberal
A study shows that children who believe as if their lifestyle is significant are also happier. So, what makes children understand their lives are meaningful?
When they help other people, volunteering, helping their friends and family. Being helpful also makes children happier and gives positive vibes. According to Dr. L.B. Aknin, toddlers feel happy when they give treats and receive treats. It’s a mindful gift for kids. So, encourage your children to help others.
16. Healthy Body Image
A healthy body image is essential for girls. Besides, it can affect boys also. Institute of Child Health concluded that one-third of teenage girls are upset because of their overweight. 69 percent of mothers make false comments about their bodies in front of the kids. It can impact their child’s body image. Following are some methods to maintain children body image:
- Focus on exercise rather than on appearance.
- Concentrate on children’s character and skill development.
- Do a family exercise
- Influence your children through fitness models.
- Don’t pass false statements on other people’s looks and body image.
17. Don’t Scold your Children
Yelling at your children can rapidly turn your abode into an endless battleground. Children don’t like to live in a hostile atmosphere, and they feel insecure and nervous.
If you really can’t control your temper, then take ten minutes to collect the words before speaking with your children. Emotional coaching is a process to empathize with your children’s feelings and thoughts.
18. Teach Them to Forgive
According to Dr. Martin Seligman, forgiveness is a crucial element that leads to happiness in kids in positive psychology. Unforgiveness can be linked to depression and anxiety. Children who learn to forgive will be able to turn negative thoughts into positive ones. It helps to prove the levels of happiness and life gratification.
19. Try to become a role model for your children.
Don’t have grievances against people who wronged you, and take the lead to resolve personal issues. Tell your children the importance of forgiveness so that they can add forgiveness elements into their lifestyle.
20. Positive Thinking
According to Dr. Seligman, children who are more optimistic and confident tend to be happier and successful. So, teach your children to think positively. Motivate them, stand along with them. Here are some additional methods to teach them to think positive:
- Evolve a positive attitude in yourself.
- Never complain.
- Don’t be behind evil.
- Notice the good in others, appreciate it, and try to add that good element to your life.
- Teach your children positive phrases. For example: ‘I like to play football’ instead of ‘I hate to play cricket.’
- Share the challenges you face with your children and how those challenges help you to grow in life.
21. Family Mission Statement
As a parent, you have to create a family mission statement that describes your family’s collective vision and values. Just like every organization has a mission, and so should your family have too.
22. Regular Family Meetings
It is appropriate to have at least 20 minutes of family meetings four times a month. During the meeting, you can ask all your loved ones these three basic questions to know what’s going in their life:
- What did they do in the past week?
- Why did they not do so well in the past days?
- What are their upcoming plans for the week?
It brings your family closer and together. It reinforced the prominence of family bonds. So, encourage yourself and start practicing it from today onwards.
23. Tell Your Children About Their Grandparents and Family History
The children who know about their family background and history have higher levels of self-confidence. It helps them to achieve success and happiness in their life later. Talking about your family history strengthens family bonds. It helps your children to become more substantial and more flexible.
24. Create Family Rituals
Family rituals and ceremonies increase family coherence and empower children to develop socially. Make a deliberate effort to create family rituals. Here are some examples:
- Have a family breakfast every Saturday.
- Play a family board game night.
- Cook dinner for your family.
- Go for evening walks.
- A weekly family meeting (consider point #21)
- Go on a family camping trip once a year.
- Spend time with your kids as much as possible.
25. Help Your Kids to Find a Teacher
Apart from parents, children who have a trusted adult partner in their life as mentors help them achieve 30 percent of higher life satisfaction. So, try to find a mentor for your child by encouraging your child to join clubs like Boy & Girls Club or any sports academy or music classes. But sure, that should be your children’s interest.
The Bottom Line
Parenting is a noble call, but it isn’t easy to bring up well-adjusted and confident children. But these are 25 tips to raise healthy kids, and I hope the task is a little scary.
