Today’s parents struggle with many worries, from bullying to drugs, predators, and the general health and well-being of their children.
While parents can only exert so much control over some aspects of children’s lives, there are things you can do as a parent to instill positive values and motivate your kids to lead healthier lifestyles.
Encourage Participation in Extracurricular Activities
Kids have tons of options for extracurricular activities these days, from organized sports to boy scouts and girl scouts, clubs, camps, music and dance lessons, swimming, and more.
Encourage your children to try different things and find something that they enjoy. These activities entertain idle minds, offer built-in friendships, and require your kids to be physically active. They can even help lessen symptoms of ADHD and provide an outlet to burn off the restless energy often associated with the condition.
Limit and Monitor Media Consumption
Screen time is a growing problem among today’s youth, as mobile devices and video games make consuming media a 24-7 activity.
A 2010 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that kids between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an average of seven hours and 38 minutes in front of the screen (any form of entertainment media – TV, video games, etc.) daily, for a total of 53 hours per week. That’s more time than many people spend at work every week!
Limiting screen time means that when the daily limit is reached your children will find something else to occupy their time, which often means getting off the couch to do something more physically or cognitively engaging.
Offer Healthy Choices and Let Your Children Help with Meal Prep
Getting kids to eat healthy is an uphill battle for many parents.
Some kids are incredibly picky eaters who wouldn’t dream of touching broccoli and balk at the slightest indication of seasoning on a pork chop or piece of chicken. Obviously, having hot dogs, pizza, and ice cream every night for dinner isn’t an option, making dinner time a major point of contention for a large number of parents today.
What you can do is offer choices, giving your kids a sense of empowerment in deciding what they’ll eat. When you allow your children to help prepare meals they’re often more inclined to give new foods a try.
Some parents find that reward systems – scoreboards where they’re awarded stars for choosing a healthy snack, finishing their plates, or trying a new healthy food are quite effective for some children. Ultimately, you’ll need to experiment with various strategies to find out what motivates your children.
Instill Confidence in Your Children
If your child is overweight, teasing them is not the way to motivate them to become healthier.
In fact, researchers at the University of Minnesota found that overweight kids who are teased or taunted are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide. What’s alarming is that it’s not just schoolmates and peers who tease overweight children, but sometimes parents and siblings too. Thirty-two percent of overweight children experience verbal abuse.
Avoid negative or teasing comments and instead offer positive reinforcement. Compliment your child for making healthy eating choices, encourage him to participate in an organized sport, or reward behaviors such as opting to ride her bike instead of watching TV. Emotional health is just as critical for well-being as physical health and dietary habits.
Raising well-rounded, happy, and healthy children is every parent’s goal, but no one has defined the one-size-fits-all road map for getting there.
The truth is that every family, every parent, and every child are unique, leaving parents to guess their way through the path to raising healthy kids. Setting a good example and taking a positive, flexible approach to encouraging healthy habits will help you find the right path for your kids.