Healthy Lifestyles: A Family Affair
Parents are right to closely monitor their children’s academic pursuits and it’s also important to realize that their physical health and well-being are just as essential. To encourage a lifetime of good habits, children need to learn the importance of healthy eating and regular physical activity at an early age.
According to Felicia D. Stoler, DCN, MS, RD, host of The Learning Channel’s groundbreaking show, “Honey We’re Killing The Kids,” every parent has the power to help their kids grow to be healthy, confident young adults with a positive self-image. By using creative ways to make good nutrition and daily physical activity fun for everyone, parents can set a good example on a healthy lifestyle for now and the future.
Eat Well
Help your children develop healthy eating habits at an early age. “Consuming a diet that is too high in calories for your child’s activity level can lead to several physical health problems such as obesity and type-2 diabetes, conditions which are now being diagnosed in children,” says Stoler. “If prepared and served the right way, children can enjoy nutritious, calorically-appropriate foods while parents gain the reassurance they are helping their kids grow strong and energetic.”
Following are some recommendations on ways to incorporate healthy foods into your family’s lifestyles.
- Consider placing fresh citrus fruits within sight so your family can see them first whenever they feel the need to snack on something sweet – a bowl in your fridge, on your kitchen counter or on the dining table are great locations.
- If you eat between meals, don’t overdo it. Provide healthy snacks like fresh fruits or vegetables and drink water or 100 percent juice instead of sodas or sweetened juice drinks if you feel the need to consume something sweet. Be sure to check the label and look for the words “100% juice.”
- Let your kids serve themselves at meal time to help them learn about portion control at the dinner table. Have them take at least one teaspoon of a food they say they don’t like because they may change their mind. It’s also fun to let them help with the preparation of food.
- Teach your children how to make wise food choices away from home, at school cafeterias, restaurants, and vending machines. Help them learn how to read food labels to figure out what quality and quantity food choices are best. More food is not always better for them; appropriate portion sizes need to be understood.
- Keep healthy, portable fruits like Florida’s sweet sunburst tangerines with you at all times so you and your family can snack on them whenever. This helps to curb the appetite and any urge to get “impulse” items while away from home. It also reduces the chance of a child asking for food and reduces the need to purchase less healthy snack foods while running errands.
- Be consistent. Establish a family meal routine and set times for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Sharing meals is an ideal way for the family to spend quality time together.
- Make sure children eat a healthy breakfast every day. Children who eat breakfast are more likely to get the nutrients they need on a daily basis. Research also suggests that children who regularly consume breakfast may be more likely to maintain a healthy weight.1 Include whole grains, dairy, and fruit as part of a well-balanced breakfast. For family breakfast tips and recipes, click here.
- Designate a night or two a week when the kids pick what they want to make for dinner and the whole family can participate. Always add vegetables and fruits to the meal to help promote healthy eating.
- Plan a special breakfast, lunch or dinner with each child once a month to ensure that all children are receiving quality alone time with parents.
Get Active
Remind your family that eating healthy foods such as fresh Florida citrus is not the only way to stay healthy, you must also be active. Kids pay close attention to everything their parents do and love getting involved in “adult” activity, so take advantage of this and set an example for active living by moving with your kids. Get the family away from the TV and encourage physical activity. Every opportunity offers a time for the family to bond and reinforces the importance of daily exercise, and also gives children the opportunity to gain confidence in their abilities while having fun.
- Have Fun with Chores: Chores can sometimes seem tedious and demanding but it is important for children to learn responsibility, so make chore time fun. Turn up the music and include children in active chores such as dog walking, house cleaning, car washing or yard work; dancing and singing to music makes chores go faster. Turn laundry time into a race on who can fold the fastest, kids love coming in first no matter the game.
- Create Challenges: Everyone loves a scavenger hunt so hide objects around the house and create tricky clues to ensure brain power is used. Select a theme for the scavenger hunt and have the family dress-up and role play accordingly. For example, with a pirate-themed hunt, everyone must dress and talk like pirates.
- Play Together: Plan active weekends around your child’s favorite physical activity such as a day at the park, skating rink, swimming pool or the zoo. In the summer, parents can take a bike ride with their children, have fun playing hopscotch, have a water balloon fight or play a ball game right in the backyard. Winter time doesn’t always have to mean hibernating on the couch. Instead, build a snowman, have a snowball fight, go sledding. Also plan indoor sports like basketball, volleyball and bowling. Each fun activity reinforces the importance of movement. Celebrate your family activities with a healthy snack such as a tasty fruit like a Florida orange or tangerine.
- The Gift of Giving: Give your children gifts that encourage physical activity such as active games, sporting equipment or a Frisbee. This helps to limit inactive behavior such as watching TV, playing video games and computer time. Join in and play with them when they try out these new gifts.
Have Fun
Offer alternatives to TV screen time. From coloring to science projects, these activities are very important for the imagination. Reward your kids with praise and fun activities.
- Food Planning: Turn grocery shopping into a fun time out. Give the kids a list of specific fruits, vegetables or household items to be picked out and encourage them to find these foods. This activity forces them to ask questions and think creatively while engaging them in this family chore. Also, let them push the small carts provided for children, it gives them a sense of contributing and allows them to walk with you.
- Meal Preparation: Once home, let kids help in the kitchen, whether it is stirring the sauce, setting the table or gathering everyone for dinner. They love to be special helpers no matter how small the task and they are more likely to eat what they helped to make. Use this opportunity to teach your children about the food groups and the importance of a balanced and nutritious diet. Choose the types and amounts of foods you need from the five food groups. Also, allow your child to help pick the menus at mealtime. For recipe suggestions utilizing fresh Florida citrus, click here.
- Family Game Time: Assign one night a week for the family to get together and play games. Rotate the types of games weekly so everyone in the family has a chance to showcase what they enjoy playing. It can vary from board games to computer or video games.
- Family Movie Night: Assign one night a week for the family to get together and watch movies. For movie night, let each member of the family select a family-friendly movie to watch so everyone can participate.
- Laugh Out Loud: Kids love making people laugh, so hold a silly joke-telling session with your kids. Encourage everyone in the family to share a new joke they learned at school or work. Laughing relieves stress and can actually strengthen stomach muscles.
- Homework: Homework can be stressful and overwhelming. Make it fun by role playing and using objects around the house as props. For example, when children are doing math homework, let them use freshly cut fruits to count, add and subtract rather than using calculators. A tasty fruit like a Florida orange or tangerine makes for a sweet, refreshing treat after homework is done.
- Spark Creativity: Participate in art projects as a family. Have each child color or design a plain picture frame and then insert individual photos of them to showcase their art work. Use your imagination to paint a fence, an old chair, a box or even a large piece of flat wood. You could even visit the public library and have each family member pick a science project. Not all science projects have to be done that night, so assign nights for each family member to highlight their selected project.
- Go Green: As a family, it is important to recognize and support the environment in which we live. To help with your part in giving back to the environment plant a tree in your yard or start a garden. Each family member can take turns caring for the plant(s).
For delicious recipes featuring fresh Florida citrus, click here.
- Rampersaud G, Pereira M, Girard B, Adams J, Metzl J. Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight, and academic performance in children and adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005; 105:743-760.