If you want to leave a legacy to your children, helping them achieve peak fitness and live a healthy lifestyle is one that can follow them for the rest of their life and help future generations. At Evolution Lifestyle Fitness in Raleigh, NC, we work with people of all ages and help develop healthy habits for the whole family that keep on giving to you and your children for years to come. Teaching children is best done by example, so what you do in your own life will help them in the future. It goes beyond that. There are fun ways to help make and keep your family healthy.
Family outings that are active or active pastimes at home offer more than just fitness.
You can still go to the movies, but it shouldn’t be the only thing you do with the family. In fact, there are far less expensive and more fun ways to spend family time. Hiking in the park with a picnic lunch or creating a hula hoop competition where the whole family has his or her own hula hoop and trains for it with the family for a final event can be fun. Sometimes, whole neighborhoods have adopted this type of competition and it’s perfect for social distancing. You can make chores more fun by turning on music and dancing through them. Is Rover or Kitty getting a bit pudgy? Make it a habit to involve pets, so they get exercise, too.
Have fun planning and cooking meals together.
You can do meal prep ahead of time on the weekend and get it done faster with the help of the whole family. Prepare a little extra for other weeks when your schedule is crowded. Creating meals is a good time to teach kids about healthy eating. You can use the rainbow plate as an example. The more colorful the plate, the healthier it is….as long as those colors don’t come from Skittles or M&Ms. Plan menus together and get the kids involved in grocery shopping, with each child responsible for finding one or two of the items. Let them help prepare healthy snacks ready for consumption in the refrigerator.
Form a loose schedule and stick with it.
It will be tough to create a tight schedule, where every day is the same, especially if kids are in a lot of extracurricular activities. However, the time to go to bed and get up should be consistent. Focus on having meals together as often as possible and carve out a night or two as strictly family time. You should also include a half hour to an hour of family activities that provide exercise every day. It could be as simple as going for a walk after supper or even exercising together in the backyard or living room.
- Make time for the family and eat meals together. Try to eat together one meal a day. Talking together in person has become almost impossible and texts or phone calls aren’t the same thing. Listening and participating in conversation around the dinner table is how many children learn about the world.
- Don’t forget that what kids drink is just as important as what they eat. Water or infused water is far better. Work with kids to make fruit laden ice cubes or infused water to give water more flavor without added sugar.
- Say something nice to each member of the family every day or find something to be thankful for that day and discuss it. Looking for the good in life can lead to a healthier and more satisfying existence.
- Create a family bedtime ritual. Turn off all electronic devises and read or talk to children when you put them to bed. You’re a far better influence on their lives than some YouTube video and you also make them feel more important.
For more information, contact us today at Evolution Lifestyle