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Today, I’m sharing a few tips that have helped us be a more healthy and happy family. Check it out!
1. Be an example. We’ve all heard it, but kids are seriously always watching. Healthy habits for kids begin at home, and are so much more likely to stick if the entire family is doing them. My kids love to exercise with me/be a part of it, eat the same things for breakfast as me (I have them hooked on smoothies and yogurt parfaits!), help mow the grass with daddy on their toy lawnmowers, and basically anything and everything else we do. We’re certainly not the best examples all the time, but we try hard to be good examples since they’re always trying to be just like us.
2. Limit treats to one or two special times per week, and involve them. Over the holidays I feel like there are treats right and left, and we were suddenly eating dessert every day. Of course we all felt pretty blah and were all noticeably more moody and tired. So now we’ve dedicated one night a week to be our treat night, and we make it a special occasion, and I let the boys be involved so it’s even more fun. It’s easier to say no to little treats throughout the week if you have something special to look forward to. Some of our favorites have been blondie bars and homemade ice cream.
3. Try family exercise activities. I don’t really love to exercise, so I try to fit it into the day where it’s not such a burden or an inconvenience for me. Sometimes, that involves a workout while Blake is napping in the afternoons. Sometimes, Bryce will join me in some exercises- jumping jacks and mountain climbers are SO cute to watch him try! Other times when nicer weather rolls around, we walk to our neighborhood park and spend the mornings playing outdoors or play in the backyard after school. I’m also looking forward to “nature walks” that we can do together by exploring the various trails by our house this summer! Either way, we are all better off for it and have noticed their sleep is better whenever they have some amount of fresh air with some outside time! (See our favorite things to do outside here.)
4. Convey that healthy habits make them act better and feel better. In a world that’s obsessed with personal appearance, I try to help my boys focus on how healthy habits make them act better and feel better. We try not to talk about weight or size. And constantly reminding my kids of this helps remind me to focus less on weight and size. I’ve heard the phrase “if you eat junk, you act like junk,” so we’ve adopted that in our home and I try to help my kids make good food choices because it won’t give them a tummy ache later, or because sugar makes them wild and we want to be in control of our minds and our bodies.
5. Take your vitamins! My kids can definitely get picky when it comes to eating, or they eat such small amounts that who knows how much nutrition they actually get. So to help make up for some of the things their diet might be missing, and to keep their bodies healthy with all the germs we pick up at school, I focus on giving them vitamins, probiotics and immune support (especially during cold/flu season).
Lately, we’ve tried some great options. The Little DaVinci mighty vite is a ready-to-eat powder, so you can use it in recipes or beverages. I personally like to use it in smoothies since we have them almost every day. It is a children’s multivitamin that addresses immune, digestion and inflammation support. Many multivitamins out there are gummy vitamins where you read the first ingredient is sugar. What?! Mighty vite is a great alternative that has real nutrients with no sugar, watered down nutrients or fillers. You can purchase it (and their other products) on their website here and get 20% off your purchase with code MOMBLOG (expires June 3, 2020).
Our pediatrician recommended that Bryce take probiotics, so we have started Kyo-Dophilus Kids Probiotics from Wakunaga of America. These tablets don’t require refrigeration and be taken by infants too (when crushed if needed). They are chewable vanilla tablets that are easy to chew. I didn’t realize it, but 70% of your immune system is located in your gut, so it makes sense to have a probiotic (I take them too– they make an adult version). Probiotics help maintain good bowel regularity, relieves occasional digestive discomfort and promotes healthy immune function and restores beneficial bacteria in your body. Bryce has no problems taking these and I love that it doesn’t contain any GMOs, preservatives, dairy, soy or sodium. You can buy these at health food stores and on Amazon. Prime for the win!
6. Wash your hands!
This seems obvious, but it is one of the single most important things you can do to stay healthy. We always sing the happy birthday song as they wash to encourage quality hand washing. I also replaced our household soaps from the foaming dispensers (I found the soap just went on their hands and rinsed right off) to a soap they had to work to lather themselves.
7. Encourage your family to make healthy choices, but don’t be too strict. In the end, we want our kids to be kids and enjoy their childhood. I want to promote a healthy home and instill healthy habits in my family, but not be too crazy strict that they go in the opposite direction!
There are lots of ways to help your family be healthy, but these are a few things that are working for us and have helped us make smarter choices and be healthier. Do you have any tips to share? Post them in the comments!
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