Healthy Lifestyle Tips

Body Signals for Health

It is very simple to let your child understand the body signals, which plays a vital role in maintaining good health. Teach them the following:

• Eat when you are hungry
• Quit when you feel full
• Involve in some fun or entertaining activities when you are bored and don’t simply go and get something from the fridge and eat to kill boredom
• Exercise when you feel you are not energetic
• Sleep when you feel really tired

Teach your kids about these important signals that may boost health.

Healthy Food Formula

How to make sure that your kids eat healthy food? Simple, follow this Healthy Food Formula to get adequate nutrition.

Every major meal should have at least four varieties of foods. It doesn’t mean that you should cook four different varieties, rather make fruits and veggies a part of it.

For example: Veggies, Fruits, Grains and Protein / Calcium rich foods.

Also, giving varieties naturally induce an interest in kids to eat foods.

Simple Habits to Lead a Healthy Life - There is a time not to eat!

Yes. We do follow a time to eat and never consider about the time not to eat anything. Most mommies follow a structured meal for kids. While it is good, it may also impact the health of the child. A meal takes at least 2 to 3 hours for digestion. Even before the food digests, you may feed the kid, ie, after a 2 hour break you may feed the child with a snack or drink. Also, if the child falls asleep after a meal, it would take more time for digestion. If the food is not digested, the repetitive structured meal may cause stomach problems in kids.

Kids would ask themselves if they are hungry. Don’t simply follow the timetable!

Simple Habits to Lead a Healthy Life - Physical activity is as important as food

Something that most of the parents ignore is adequate physical activity in kids. Eat, sleep, watch TV, go to school, study, etc. are the major aspects that occupies the entire childhood. Parents, remember that physical activity is as important as food. Inadequacy or absence of physical activity is the ultimate cause of many diseases in kids. Make sure that your child is physically active at least for 20 minutes a day.

Simple Habits to Lead a Healthy Life - Hand Wash

Washing hands before we eat is the best way to stay away from developing any infections / illnesses. Similarly, washing hands and legs after using a restroom / toilet is essential to escape falling sick. Unfortunately, only 1 in 5 persons wash hands after using a restroom. Health is the most precious wealth! This simple habit makes a person healthy and protects him/ her from diseases.

Teach about fruits and veggies

Children love to explore and experiment new things. You may simply use this feature to teach them about identification of various stages of fruits and veggies and how they grow. For instance, how sweet is the aroma of jackfruit or mango?! How do you identify a ripe fruit? Tell kids various indications and various stages of growth / development.

Snack Time isn’t Junk Time

Junk foods are high in salt, sugar, fat, and calories but with little nutritional value. Most of the kids eat junk foods mainly during snack time. When they watch television or play games, without knowing the quantity, they consume them. Educate your children that snack time is not junk time. Also, carry the responsibility of not making the snack time totally unhealthy. Simply, make it a mini-meal time.

Early to Rise

An hour early to bed will help the kids wake up a little bit early in the morning. Just imagine, if you wake up at least half an hour earlier than your regular time, you will have sufficient time to get ready to school without any tantrums. For instance if you have not completed the homework or studied for a test, you can make it up in the morning.

You can avoid the last minute hurry to catch the school bus!

Monsoon Season

Monsoons are quite enjoyable while it can be a bit hard when a few things don’t favor you. For instance, water leakage, clogged sewage, etc. Also, children may catch infection soon due to the damp climate. Make sure to prepare your home, fix all structural defects, from leaks to proper electric system. Enjoy monsoon blissfully with good health.

Home Garden

Develop a garden at home, it can be of fruit trees or vegetables or greens or even herbs. Having a home garden and using the fresh veggies from the garden does not just form the foundation of a healthy eating habit, but also induces a good hobby or healthy habit in your children. Make your child a part of all activities involved in developing a garden. For instance, involve the child in removing the weeds, watering the plants, etc.

Educate about Agriculture

Shopping? Who hates it? When you go for shopping, undoubtedly you will take your kids. Kids like picking all those colorful and tasty, certainly unhealthy processed foods and filling your shopping baskets; it happens. Why not, at least once, take your child to any agricultural land and let them know where the crops grow?

The fact is, not many children of this millennium know where the crops come from! This was a question asked to a 10 years old boy, ‘How do you get rice?’ He replied, ‘rice grows on trees, and we will pluck it!’

Educate your child about the importance of agriculture, the source and the base!

Say good bye to Soft Drinks

Many consider that it is not very harmful for kids if they consume soft drinks occasionally. Unfortunately, the truth is different. Drinking one small can of soft drink or a carbonated beverage two or three times a week increases the risk of obesity in kids by 50 percent. High in calories and sugar, it has no nutritional value. Children are addicted to the taste and flavouring agents used in them. Gradually reduce the frequency of soft drinks for your children and and ultimately, let them say good bye to them once for all.