How To Encourage Kids To Live a Healthy Lifestyle

By: Elena Stewart

As a parent, our top priority is raising happy and healthy kids. Children don't know instinctively how to live a healthy lifestyle, so it is up to us to teach them. We recommend using these five tips to promote healthy habits in our kids.

Promote a Healthy Diet

While it's important to teach our kids how to have a healthy relationship with food and not demonize one cuisine while praising another, we should teach them how to create a balanced diet filled with nutritious foods. Teach kids that different types of food offer various benefits to our bodies, so while candy and junk food may give quick energy, they also ultimately lead to crashes later in the day. Reaching for a piece of fruit, a vegetable or a smoothie may offer long-lasting energy while also providing them with more nutrients!

Encourage Kids To Pursue Passions

Happiness has a direct impact on the health of our kids, and one way to boost happiness is to encourage our kids to pursue activities they enjoy instead of putting pressure on them to do a specific activity. Show them that pursuing a career in fields that interest them is the best way to care for their long-term happiness. For example, kids that have an interest in computers and information technology may choose to pursue a career in the IT field with an IT degree. Kids who love animals and medicine may prefer to enroll in veterinarian school and open their own practice. There are numerous options, giving us the opportunity as parents to support our kids to pursue what fulfills them..

Find Ways To Exercise

Exercising may not sound fun, but because there are many ways to stay active, we can help our kids find a form of exercise they enjoy! Go for a family walk each evening and use the time to connect with your kids. You can also sign your kids up for sports teams, swim classes, or dance lessons. If your kids are young, take them to the park a few times each week. Start a game of tag in the backyard or get a trampoline to promote movement. Just show them that exercise never has to be boring and actually can be really fun.. You can even use the TickTalk 4 kids smartwatch phone to help your child track their steps throughout the day!

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

One survey suggests that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. This statistic is not surprising given the fact that many people reach for juice, tea, coffee, or soda when they are thirsty instead of turning to water. Doctors recommend that adults drink at least 64 ounces of water a day in addition to other beverages to stay hydrated, and kids need slightly less depending on their ages. By encouraging our kids to drink more water, we can help them make healthier choices early on that can last a lifetime.

Model a Healthy Lifestyle

Most children learn best through modeling. If we talk about living a healthy lifestyle, but don't model our choices, our kids probably won't pay much attention to our teachings. We need to practice what we preach if we want our kids to be healthy. Simple acts such as consuming healthy foods, staying hydrated, keeping our houses organized, and enjoying hobbies can go a long way in boosting our mental health and showing our kids what a healthy lifestyle can look like.

It’s not always easy being healthy, especially with screens, junk food, and other unhealthy life choices, so it’s up to us to guide them with healthy habits! Get started by using these tips and be sure to follow us @myticktalk to send us your healthy #lifehacks.