12 Healthy Habits and Behaviors Parents Should Teach Their Kids
Experts believe that parents’ involvement in their children’s upbringing is important. You can (and should) play a vital role in your kids’ childhood development by teaching them healthy habits. Educating your children while they’re impressionable makes them avoid harmful practices in their teenage years.
What sort of healthy behaviors should parents teach children? This article goes through some habits you must teach your kids to help them remain healthy. These habits will prevent them from falling victim to certain diseases that have become widespread among children, such as obesity.
Remember that parents are integral to children’s upbringing. So, leverage your influence to teach them the following practices:
1. Brushing teeth
Parents should teach their children the cruciality of brushing their teeth twice. “Brush your teeth before sleeping and immediately after waking up” should be said to kids daily. Know that younger children can be sluggish when it comes to dental hygiene. So, spend some time teaching them exactly why they are supposed to clean their teeth.
Use fluoride-containing toothpaste to make their teeth stronger and make brushing a fun-filled activity by occasionally giving them some candy as a reward.
2. Avoid unhealthy behaviors
Educate your children about avoiding unhealthy cravings and giving up addictive behaviors. But you can’t become an influential educator without giving up certain unhealthy habits yourself. Learn how addiction affects kids and disrupts the family system.
As children are easily impressionable, parents’ unhealthy behaviors can have a deep impact on them. So, seek professional help to overcome all of your cravings. Contact rehab centers to regain your health and attain long-term sobriety.
3. Table manners
Are your kids behaving decently while eating? Teach your kids table manners so they may remember these etiquettes when becoming adults. Tell children how to sit properly when eating, keep their mouths when chewing food, and not speak to someone with morsels in their mouths.
Educate them on the importance of taking sips of water while eating and using spoons to avoid getting dirty fingers from eating bare-handedly. More importantly, show them why it’s not okay to waste food.
4. Eating breakfast
Statistics have indicated that 20% of children are regularly skipping breakfast. Experts call breakfast the most important meal of the day; skipping it isn’t healthy. Your body needs all bits of nourishment a healthy breakfast contains.
So, ask your kids what they like to eat every morning. Also, don’t force-feed children meals they despise. Instead, give them a choice between foods so they may eat their favorite healthy items.
5. Drinking water
How much water does your child consume? Drinking water shouldn’t be taken lightly because kids need this liquid to remain healthy. Remember that H2O carries nutrients all over your body and gives your cells the necessary nourishment.
Give them OJ, milkshakes, or smoothies if your children despise water. Dehydration isn’t healthy for anyone. So, teach them the significance of staying hydrated. Use clean bottles to store water and avoid dangerous infections.
6. Playing outdoors
Experts suggest teenagers engage in one-hour-long physical activities daily to boost their health. Unfortunately, according to CDC, a mere 24% of people between the ages of six and seventeen remain physically active for an hour daily.
Teach them why it’s unhealthy to remain glued to screens throughout the day. Show them the importance of staying active by playing outdoors. For this purpose, keep them engaged in different pastimes because a sedentary lifestyle isn’t good for their well-being.
7. Bedtime routines
Children require 8-hour sleep every night to remain healthy. Don’t forget that your body rejuvenates while you’re sleeping, so skimping up on a good night’s rest isn’t healthy for anyone.
Since your kids have school most mornings, establish a proper bedtime routine that ensures they’re “tucked in” their beds by 10 o’clock. Keep the bedroom warm, dark, and quiet to induce sleep. Also, ask them to stay away from blue-light-emitting screens an hour before sleeping.
8. Money handling
When should you start giving your kids some pocket money? Surveys have shown that some 75% of parents give pocket money to their children between the ages of five and seven. Around this age, help your kids understand how and why they should be responsible with their pocket money.
Give them piggy banks, show them the importance of savings, and educate them about budget-making tricks. Remember that children are more excited to earn money, so give them allowances for performing domestic chores.
9. Stranger Danger
When your child turns four-five, it’s high time to teach them about stranger danger. It’s because a five-year-old person can understand the concept of strangers and how they should stay safe around any unfamiliar individual.
Moreover, it’s probably the right time to reveal the difference between a “bad touch” and a “good touch.” Make them aware of authority figures such as guards, police officers, and administrators who can help them. Teach them to be brave enough to say “no” to strangers.
10. Saying “please”
It’s highly imperative to teach your kids the power of good words. Experts believe that even 18-month-old babies can utter a form of “please” and “thank you.” Show them how these simple magic words can have a good effect on people.
These words can make your children nicer to others and prevent them from becoming vengeful bullies. Every parent’s worst nightmare is watching their kids become school bullies. So, turn them into decent, polite, and modest individuals by teaching them good words.
11. Traffic safety
The old-fashioned traffic safety rules you memorized in childhood haven’t become outdated. A child living in the 21st century isn’t less vulnerable on the streets than you were back in the old days. So, teach your kids to look both ways before crossing the street and using zebra crossing for this purpose.
Ask them to refrain from disturbing the bus driver or hanging their hands out the window. These simple guidelines can keep your children safe out there and prevent accidents.
12. Sharing stuff
Even three-year-old kids understand the concept of sharing things. Teaching your kids about sharing is important because it turns them into more caring individuals. Show them how sharing doubles their pleasure and makes others like them more.
Siblings can be taught “sharing is caring” more easily as they have brothers and sisters to share things with at home. But if you have only one child, you must show them how to share things with friends, relatives, and neighbors.
Conclusion
We’ve established that parents influence a child’s upbringing. So, it’s expected from all parents to teach their kids certain healthy habits. These habits include dietary routines and exercise methods. For instance, a child should learn table manners, safety principles, and money-related guidelines.
Likewise, educate your children about stranger danger, teach them to say “please,” and prevent them from staying up late at night. Establish proper bedtime routines, and feed them nutritious stuff instead of fast food.
Remember that playing outdoors can help you raise healthy and active children. Also, tell them that sharing is caring so they may grow up to be nice people. And most importantly, keep them away from all unhealthy cravings for their well-being.
