Promote Health Habits Early

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Childhood obesity has a negative effect on every part of your child's life. As parents, we want our kids to have it better than we did and a good way to start is by promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, and atherosclerosis are finding their way into our children.  If the current trend continues, this new generation may be the first in history to live a shorter life span than their parents.   So what can parents do to prevent this from happening to their children?
Step 1:

Take responsibility for what happens in your family.  Blaming fast food restaurants or soda companies is easy but an incorrect placement of blame.  If your child is overweight, look in the mirror to find the person that caused it.  It is time we learn to take responsibility for our actions, or lack of actions instead of trying to make someone else the scapegoat for all of our poor decision-making.

Step 2:

Start good habit building early in childhood.  It is easier to start good habits than it is to break bad ones.

Step 3:

Don't use food as a reward or comfort.  Children who are rewarded for good grades, proper behavior, and such with food will associate food with the ability to do well.  Also, food given for this reason is usually unhealthy foods--ice cream, candy, and such.  This leads to a lifelong habit of "treating" themselves with unhealthy foods for every good thing that happens.  Having said all this, of course occasional treats are not harmful and can be useful if used for only very special circumstances.

Step 4:

Offer rewards or comforts that are non-food related.  A new book, a few minutes completely alone with Daddy, stars on a grid on the fridge (obviously works better with little kids), a few hours to play dress-up with Mommy, getting to stay up an extra half hour past bedtime, watching a special movie, etc. are all examples.

Step 5:

Offer healthier options for snacks.  Raisins, apples, carrot sticks, grapes, cheese cubes, and such are great for an after-school snack or a before game pick-me-up.  These can be placed in a cooler in the car, if necessary, to eat on the way to practices or recitals or games.  It takes a little planning and preparation time, but your child will benefit immensely. More water, less high sugar drinks.

Step 6:

Prepare several meals at once to be eaten through the week.  Cooking two or three meals at once is not that much more trouble than cooking one meal. Then you have a quick meal you can nuke and feed the family on the go.  It is also easy to break out one of these meals on a really rough day when you are really tired, thus avoiding another hamburger or pizza meal.

Step 7:

Eat healthier meals yourself.  Kids learn more from our actions than they do from our words. 

Step 8:

Take a hike...or a walk.  Get some exercise.  Again remember, we are here to be teachers to our children.  Teach them that exercise is healthy and fun.

Step 9:

Take your children with you.  Find something you all enjoy doing and can do as a family--hiking, walking, biking, badminton, and so much more are available.  This has other benefits besides promoting proper weight.  You will find conversations are easier and it gives you a common base upon which to build a relationship.  This will be very important as your babies turn into tweens and teens.

There are so many ways you show your children each day that you love them.  Make healthy eating and exercise another.  Something unhealthy--like cheeseburgers and fries, sodas, candy--all have their place.  And there is nothing like a fresh-baked cookie fresh out of the oven!  Just use moderation.  The junk food should be the special treat in a life of healthy eating, not the other way around. 

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