The Essential Tips For Raising Healthy, Happy Children

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Every parent has the priority of raising healthy, happy children. However, there are a few things that can easily be overlooked. Raising them the way we were raised may work, but now there are far more effective ways of making sure your kids are happy and healthy. Here are the essential tips for raising happy, healthy children:

Choose Your Words Carefully

Choosing your words carefully in front of your children is a must. You don’t realize it, but your kids pick up on words and emotions from a young age. Before they can even talk, they are listening to you and soaking everything up like a sponge. If you speak negatively all the time while they are babies, they may very well develop a pessimistic attitude as they grow up. They learn more from you than you realize. In fact, many of their beliefs, including their limiting beliefs are picked up from you when they are young. These beliefs can be difficult to get rid of, and can stop them from living a full and happy life. Don’t beat yourself up about it, but definitely choose your words carefully around them.

Know How To Praise And Reward Them

Knowing how to praise and reward your children is crucial. Giving them a present every time they clean their room isn’t going to do much good. They will grow up to expect bribes for virtually everything they do, and may even develop a sense of entitlement in different situations. You can praise and reward your kids every so often by setting up a consistent system, for example, a sticker chart. Make sure you use the right words to praise and reward them too. Instead of telling them they are naturally talented, tell them you are happy with the effort they put into something. Don’t forget to ask them how they feel about it too. This is beneficial for so many reasons. For a start, if you tell a child they are naturally talented, they can put too much pressure on themselves to be perfect later on. Putting an emphasis on the effort, and even including your own feelings in the praise statement is the best way to go about it. Better yet, asking them how they feel about it encourages them to stay in touch with their own emotions and do things because it felt good. Not just to be a parent/people pleaser!

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Do Your Research Before Buying Anything

Before you buy anything, make sure you do your research. This is especially important with things that can be recalled and deemed faulty, such as car seats. You can look at Baby Seats Reviews to help you. Make sure you do lots of research and compare different items so you know you’re keeping your children as healthy and safe as possible.

Teach Them Moderation When It Comes To Food

When it comes to food, teaching your kids moderation is important. Some people tend to think that one bad meal ruins their whole week, so they go and stuff their faces with more unhealthy food. Some people won’t let a bit of bad food touch their lips, in a ‘moment on the lips lifetime on the hips’ kind of way. Both of these approaches are awful. Your kids need to be taught moderation, and there’s no better way to teach them moderation than to practice it yourself. If you’re always on a diet, eating junk, or living off shakes, they’re going to think this is normal and copy you. It isn’t just about the words you use, but the things you do too. Don’t ever call yourself ‘fat’ in front of a child. Don’t comment on their appearance either, especially not their weight! If you do want to say something, you can say they look healthy and happy. It’s a good idea to let them listen to their natural hunger cues too. They should eat when they’re hungry and stop when they’re full. This is why forcing their dinner down them or even making a big deal about it is a bad idea. If you make them eat when they’re not hungry, this can cause problems later on. If you make a big deal about them and call them a ‘picky eater’, they’ll likely carry this label with them and use it as an excuse to get attention later on.

Get Into Good Routines

Getting into good routines when it comes to food, bedtimes and the time they get up in the morning will help to no end. Kids need at least a rough routine to be happy. Not only can routines help you to make the most of your time together, it can get them into healthy habits, like brushing their teeth. It can also teach them a little about time management!

Let Them Make Choices

Letting your kids make choices can help them to feel happier, as well as trust themselves more. You could let them choose what they want for lunch, within reason. You could give them the choice of two outfits at the start of the day. There are a few different ways you can implement this with success!

Don’t Try To ‘Fix’ Your Child’s Feelings

You must realize that trying to ‘fix’ your child’s feelings is a losing game. If they’re sad, buying them a toy won’t make them feel better really, and it can actually encourage them not to deal with their emotions properly. Imagine how this will impact them when they get older! Instead, encouraging them to talk about their feelings and process them is the best thing to do. Of course you want to help your child feel as good as possible, but it really all boils down to them.

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Set A Good Example For Them

If you haven’t realized it yet, you must set a good example for your kids. Your actions say everything to them. This means making sure you nurture your own happiness in front of them, and even your relationships. They look up to you, so make sure you’re doing the right thing!

Give Them Real Responsibilities

Giving kids responsibilities can help them to feel needed, and teach them responsibility for later on in life too. Maybe you could make it their job to top up the dog’s water bowl, or to put the knives and forks out at dinner time. These responsibilities may only be small, but it’ll help them in so many ways. You could even set up a family rota so your kids always know what they should be doing. You can even start them off while they’re young. For example, letting them help you to sweep up. It might take a little longer, and it might not look as good, but you’re showing them that they can do things. It’ll also make them want to help you more later on!

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Make Sure You Eat Dinner Together

Eating dinner together has so many benefits, and many studies even back this up. For example, it gives your family a chance to spend quality time together. This is so beneficial if you don’t have a lot of time to spend together during the day. You can catch up, share stories, and things like that. Studies show that kids who eat dinner as a family are better behaved and happier too. They may even do better in school! What more reason do you need to eat dinner together?

Encourage Them To Get Active Regularly

Encouraging your kids to get active will get them into the exercise habit while they are young. How about suggesting things to them and letting them try out anything that appeals? This could be dancing, playing a sport, or anything like that. Letting them try things until they find something they really like is a great way to keep them active. They’ll likely be healthier later on in life then, too. Just bear in mind that you shouldn’t get attached to them doing one particular thing. It’s natural for them to want to branch out and try different things. It’s healthy for them, in fact! Remember, there’s no better way to encourage them to get active than to get active yourself. You could even do classes together. Many gyms and places offer yoga and similar classes for kids and parents. Don’t let your kids sit for too long in front of the computer, tablet, or phone. Make sure they get out there and actually move!

These are all essential tips to raising healthy, happy children. You want your children to be healthy and happy in all areas of life. This means physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthy. Make sure you work on yourself as you encourage them. After all, they will look up to you and take the lead from you. They won’t pay any attention if you are telling them one thing and doing another! Do you have anything that you’d like to add to this post? Leave your thoughts and comments below. Thanks for reading!

 

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