HEALTH IS A FAMILY AFFAIR

Written by Caroline Meyer

Keeping your family healthy appears to be very simple. An hour a day of moderate exercise and healthy food to eat should be enough to take care of your family’s health. While it is true that these habits can help protect against a host of chronic illnesses as well as reduce the risk of diabetes and obesity, how do you ensure these habits are maintained? 

The environment that we live in serves to offer temptations such as technology that encourages kids to stay idle and unhealthy foods being promoted at every turn.  To ensure you provide the best possible healthful environment, you have to get the whole family involved.  

Play games 

The whole family can get involved in active games, scaled to the age group. Play catch, kick a ball around, play some baseball or basketball, go on a hike or walk through the neighbourhood. Other games you can try include hopscotch, piggy in the middle, hide and go seek and many others. The main aim is to get out of the house and into the fresh air and take part in physical activity that everyone can enjoy. Even little ones can chase bubbles or try and kick a ball. When the exercise is fun instead of a chore, everyone looks forward to it and its also a good bonding time with the children. 

Support your child  

Encourage your child to take part in sport at school. Support them during practice and at games. Make sure they have the right sports gear and know how to keep hydrated. Some children may like to swim, while others may prefer running. Some like solo sports while others prefer team sports. Each child is individual and you can offer guidance and support in a variety of ways. 

Reduce time spent with technology 

Limit internet and TV time. Restrict the time spent on phones and playing video games.  Do not have a TV or computer in your child’s room. You need to be able to judge the amount of time spent in front of a screen as well as monitor sites and programs your children are viewing. Besides the fact that it takes away from other activities, kids are bombarded with advertisements for unhealthy foods and other temptations that can impact their health. Two hours per day should be the limit for children over 2 years old and even less for babies.  Have a schedule in place, including activities that encourage exercise and reduce the reliance on technology as a babysitter. 

Plan your meals 

You can make freezable meals on the weekend if you are unable to spend time in front of the stove during the week. Plan your meals ahead of time so that you don’t waste time having to go to the store for ingredients daily. Buy foods that can be added to a meal to improve the nutritional content such as frozen vegetables and fruit. Many tinned foods can readily be used to boost a meal (just check the ingredients to avoid additives and chemicals). Purchase your fresh fruit and veg once a week to allow for salads and snacks during the week as well. Avoid fast foods and snacks that add temptation but provide limited nutritional benefit. 

Get everyone involved in nutrition  

A fun way to improve nutrition in your home is to grow your own vegetables and herbs. The kids can get involved and help with the planting and harvesting of the food. You can also take the family apple or berry picking as this is a fun way to improve nutrition, encourage outdoor time and let the family enjoy the fruits of their labour. Let the kids choose one meal per week (or more if you are so inclined). Get everyone involved in food preparation to make it fun as well as a learning experience. 

Change habits slowly 

If your family has developed bad habits when it comes to food and exercise, don’t expect to change everything overnight. Start with swapping out processed foods for whole-grains. Change white rice to brown. Cook with natural oils such as olive oil or avocado oil instead of butter or margarine. Reduce soda in your home and offer fruit flavoured water (add fruit to filtered water, squeeze gently for more flavour) or water down store-bought juices to reduce the amount of sugar consumed. Cut down on highly processed foods in favour of natural produce. Buy cereals with no added sugar to cut down on the high levels of sugar consumed.  Make the changes slowly over time and it will develop habits better than trying for instant change. Don’t buy candy, cakes, savoury snacks and other temptations. Offer these as an occasional treat only, not an everyday item. Have fruit readily available as snacks instead of cookies. Offer yoghurt instead of ice cream. Check portions by serving less and allowing kids to go to the kitchen for a second helping should they still be hungry. Eat together at the table. This helps you keep an eye on things, allows for family discussions and improves bonding as well. 

Change your own habits 

Children often mimic what they see. If you do not take part in healthy activities and eat a lot of snacks and unhealthy foods, your children will learn from this example. Make a commitment to taking part in exercise daily and eating healthy, nutritional food. Make your family’s health a priority and build a healthy lifestyle together. 

It may be difficult to change at the start and there may be some backsliding, but you need to persevere. Put an effort into taking care of your own health as well as that of your whole family. You will reap the benefits over time and improve your family’s overall health as well as creating a foundation of healthy habits for your children.