We all want the best for our children. Teaching them how to live healthily is one of the most valuable gifts you can offer them in terms of a happy and healthy future.
As a caregiver, you will be one of your child’s first and most influential role models. Make the most of this role by using it to teach your child healthy behaviours and habits that will set them up for life.
It doesn’t have to cost a thing but time, effort and consistency will be enormously important. We’ve gathered together some top tips from the key elements of healthy living to help guide you on your journey.
Food
Helping your child to learn to eat healthily and engage with healthy and nutritious food is invaluable. Exposing them to different tastes, textures and flavours at a young age can help them immeasurably when it comes to having a healthy diet later in life.
It’s inevitable that children will go through phases with food and you may become frustrated at your child being a ‘fussy eater’ or becoming ‘picky’ about their likes and dislikes. This is natural and the best thing you can do is to persevere and continue to offer them healthy, well balanced meals.
You may want to consider some of the following ideas to help your child follow a healthy, varied diet:
1. Eat meals together
Children love to feel as though they’re joining in with adult activities. Ask them if they’d like to have lunch or dinner with you and make it a fun occasion.
Give your child responsibilities depending on their age. You could ask a preschooler to help you to set the table with knives, forks and spoons. A younger child may be able to help you with more simple tasks such as choosing a bowl or a plate for themselves.
If you’re able to get outside, consider taking a picnic to enjoy together with your children. This provides a relaxed setting where you can encourage your child to try different foods such as chopped vegetable sticks or dips such as hummus and tzatziki.
When eating meals with your children, make sure you adjust timings so that they fit around your child’s schedule. This may mean that you eat slightly earlier than you normally would but it’s important that your child doesn’t get over tired or hungry.
Try to choose a mix of foods that they are familiar with as well as some foods that they haven’t yet tried. Encourage them to taste a little of everything and praise them for any new tastes they enjoy.
2. Cook at home
We all understand that time is often short when you’re a caregiver but cooking homemade meals is a brilliant way of teaching your child about healthy eating.
Younger children often enjoy simply watching an adult cooking and preparing a meal so always position them in their high chair so that they can watch you in the kitchen as you move around. Offer children a taste of something you are chopping or put on music so that they enjoy the whole atmosphere.
Older children will be very keen to help with cooking. This can require patience from the caregiver but with a little planning you’ll be able to give them jobs that they can do themselves.
Ask children to help with simple tasks such as stirring a bowl, pouring from a jug or chopping softer foods such as bananas or bread with a child friendly knife.
Talk to your child about what you are making. They will probably have questions about it and you can discuss things such as where food comes from, how to follow a recipe and the need to be careful in the kitchen with items such as knives and hot cookers.
Hydration
Keeping hydrated is essential for adults and children so it’s an important life skill to ensure that your child understands at a young age.
Children often want to know the reasoning behind decisions and ideas so speak to them about all the benefits of keeping hydrated. You could extend this to talking about how in some parts of the world people don’t have access to clean drinking water, and help them to understand the importance of conserving water.
If you’re struggling to get your child to drink enough water, why not consider some of the following ideas?
1. Give your child their own water bottle
Not only is it good for the planet, a reusable water bottle also encourages children to drink more regularly. It’s often much more fun for children to drink from their own bottle than sitting down with a cup.
There are some brilliant options available for children and they’ll love packing it in their daycare bag or on family outings. Allow your child to help choose the water bottle that they have and label it with their name.
Encourage your child to remember to fill up their water bottle from drinking fountains or before you leave the house.
2. Add real fruit or cucumber slices to water
Ideally you’ll want to avoid you children consuming sugary drinks and cordials however, sometimes water can get a little boring and children want something different.
A good solution can be to add a few slices of either cucumber or fruit to their water bottles. Berries such as strawberries or citrus fruits such as lemon or orange are ideal for adding a very slight flavour to water without excessive amounts of sugar.
Again, involving your child in the process will engage their interest and encourage them to keep hydrated.
Ask your child what they’d like to flavour their water with and allow them to put the fruit or cucumber into the bottle themselves. You can discuss whether it floats or sinks to extend this activity further.
Exercise
Young children generally have a love of all types of activity and their energy is often amazing for parents to watch. It’s not essential to engage them in specific sports or exercise related activities at a young age as they’ll be keeping healthy simply by running around and playing.
There are a few things you can do however to encourage them to keep active and healthy:
1. Encourage movement
Offer them spaces to play that allow them to run around and burn off energy. If you have a large backyard, make sure they get outside regularly. If you don’t have space within your home, take regular trips to the park or green spaces near to you.
When the weather isn’t conducive to being outside, consider soft play centres where they can safely run around. Jumping into ball pits, going down slides and climbing up ladders will all help with the development of their gross motor skills.
2. Introduce your child to different sports
Whether you stop to watch a game of Aussie Rules in your local park or you show your child competitive sport on the TV, expose your children to as many different sports as possible.
Talk to your child about the variety of different sports available and ask them what they think they might enjoy participating in.
Many sports teams have junior divisions that welcome children from around 3 years upwards so you may want to gradually introduce them to these.
3. Limit screen time as much as possible
Try and keep your child as active as possible to encourage a healthy lifestyle. Obviously they will need time to rest and relax, but try to avoid endless hours of screen time or TV watching.
Speak to your child about the effects of screens on eyesight and let them know that you’re setting a limit on the time that they can spend watching TV or using a tablet.
Try to always balance out any time that they have spent on a screen with a trip outside or movement around the house. It could be as simple as switching up 20 minutes of screen time for putting on music and dancing in the kitchen.
Sun Safety
This is something that children will need to understand from a very young age, especially with the warm Australian climate. Speak to your child about why they need to be safe in the sun and teach them about sun safety from a young age.
Your child’s sun safety routine (sunscreen, hat, hydration) should become normal to them from a young age. If they are taught this awareness from the beginning of their lives, they will be most likely to carry it on into adulthood.
1. Apply sunscreen
Children aren’t always huge fans of wearing sunscreen but it needs to be applied regularly. Make your child aware that this is non-negotiable and has to be done if they want to go outside.
There are so many excellent brands of children’s sunscreen to choose from so take your pick and find one that suits your child’s skin.
Spray sunscreen is often a favorable option with children. Always offer them the chance to rub it into their legs and arms if they’re reluctant to have it applied.
2. Wear a hat
This is something that is encouraged in all daycare and early education settings. Although some children don’t like wearing a hat, it’s essential for outdoor play.
Babies and toddlers may try to pull off their sunhat which is completely normal! Try and persevere with replacing the hat on their heads while ensuring you are in a shaded location to best protect their skin from the sun’s rays.
Try to remember to always pack a spare hat in case one becomes wet or dirty. It’s always useful to have a spare sunhat to protect your child’s head and scalp.
3. Avoid the midday sun
Try to schedule your child’s routine so that you are indoors during the hottest part of the day. This usually works fairly well with younger children who may nap during lunchtime hours. For older children, encourage them to set up an activity or do some quiet reading in their bedroom during this time.
Explain to older children why it’s best to stay inside during this time. If they understand the reasoning, they are less likely to be frustrated or continually ask to go outside.
Encouraging a happy, healthy child
As you can see, there are many things you can do to encourage your child to lead a happy and healthy lifestyle. Most of which rely upon consistency and communication with your child as to why these practices are good for them and their health.
We hope that this guide has given you some inspiration into some of the different elements you might want to consider focussing on. Good luck, and enjoy the journey!
