Setting healthy resolutions for the New Year seems like a good idea after all the indulgence of the festive season, but keeping up with them after January can be very challenging to see through, especially for those of us who have built up unhealthy habits over the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Habits are actions that we often take without even giving it much thought, like snacking when watching the TV after dinner or putting extra sugar in our drinks. And when it comes to children, both good and bad habits are easily formed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parents have the power to help their children create healthy habits from day one. The best way to do this is by setting them good examples and getting the whole family involved. Here are some healthy, realistic resolutions that will benefit the whole family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if it\ngets a bit messy, involving your children in making healthy meals<\/a>\nwill help to give them a sense of pride and achievements, whilst learning from\na young age what constitutes a healthy plate. Kids are more likely to be\nwilling to eat food that they may have been resistant to in the past if they\nhave helped to make it themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having\nmeals together as a family gives you and your kids a chance to catch up. In\nfact, it\u2019s often a good idea to take the focus away from the food during family\nmeals and instead concentrate on having a good time bonding together. Research\nhas shown that families who eat meals together tend to consume more fruit and\nvegetables, and less fried foods and sugary drinks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding just\none fruit or vegetable to every meal or snack<\/a>\nthroughout the day is an easy habit to get into, and it can benefit your whole\nfamily in many ways. To make it even more fun, get your little ones involved in\nchoosing which fruits and vegetables they want to add to their meals and\nsnacks; try and have a variety of options each day so that you can all reap the\nbenefits of each. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This can be\ndifficult for people who were brought up to always clean their plate but\nlistening to your internal hunger cues and stopping when you feel full is a\nmuch healthier option. In addition, doing this will make it easier for you to\nwork out how much food everybody needs to be full, to avoid wastage. Explain to\nyour child that the most important thing when eating is to listen to their\ntummy, and they can always have more food later at a future meal or snack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Exercising together as a family<\/a> can be tons of fun, and there are many ways to do\nthis that make for great family bonding time too. For example, you might want\nto take the whole family out cycling, long walks with the dog, or taking part\nin sports together, such as football or tennis. Why not go to a local park and\norganize a \u2018family fun day\u2019 where you compete against each other for fun with\nsports or have races with prizes for the winner. You could even turn it into a\ngreat opportunity to meet up with other extended family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having\nconsistent times for going to bed and waking up in the morning will help your\nchild develop healthy sleeping habits for life. It can be tempting to treat\nyour kids by pushing back bedtime for an extra half-hour or so, but this can\nbackfire if your little one wakes up cranky because they\u2019re not getting as much\nsleep as they are used to. And, if an early bedtime means that you are losing\nout on time together, you can always make up for this in the morning with a\nwell-rested child. If you have teenagers, it\u2019s important to stick to bedtime\nrules as they tend to need more sleep than most, thanks to their developing\nbrains. Make sure to eliminate all distractions from their room and communicate\nwith them often to help deal with any stress that could be contributing to\nsleeplessness. Comfortable, high-quality bed linen can also help teens to get\nmore sleep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that\nyou\u2019ve tucked in your little ones, let’s talk about your sleeping habits. Being\na parent can be tough and it will probably cost you a good night\u2019s sleep more\nthan once. Do your best to avoid that pattern whenever possible and fight for a\nproper rest – the whole family depends on it. Plus, you need to set a good\nexample for your kids so they can see how important sleep is to be well\nfunctioning. Stress, in particular, is the culprit for many sleep problems in\nparents, which is understandable given the challenges they face. While some\npeople experience relief using traditional medical options, new research is\nbeing focused on alternative options to effectively deal with anxiety<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most important things to understand is that forming\nhealthy habits for your family can be a lot of fun. Don\u2019t overthink creating\nhealthy meals; turn it into a fun, happy time that you and your children can\nshare together coming up with tasty and nutritious dishes. Talk to your kids\nabout their favorite healthy habits and also encourage everybody to do these\nmore often. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As parents,\nyou can help your children develop healthy habits for a lifetime. What healthy\nhabits do your family have?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Setting healthy resolutions for the New Year seems like a good idea after all the indulgence of the festive season, but keeping up with them after January can be very challenging to see through, especially for those of us who have built up unhealthy habits over the years. Habits are actions that we often take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfitnessfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfitnessfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfitnessfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfitnessfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfitnessfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/familyfitnessfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfitnessfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfitnessfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfitnessfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfitnessfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Family\nMeals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Aim\nfor At Least One Fruit or Vegetable Per Meal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Eat\nUntil You\u2019re Full<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Get\nOutside More<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Stick\nto Bedtime<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Have\nPlenty of Fun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n