Ever wondered how entire families manage to stay healthy and fit? While parenting strategies play a large role, building a foundation of core healthy lifestyle values requires the participation of both parents and children. Use these strategies to achieve a healthy lifestyle for the whole family.
Get kids involved in sports at an early age. Being physically active early on in life teaches kids how to maneuver their bodies and do things for themselves. Practice playing sports with children regularly, whether it’s in the backyard home basketball court or at the local gym.
Once kids have gotten used to exercising, start by practicing a variety of different sports with them. With a Sport Court game court, you can play volleyball, tennis or basketball from the safety of your backyard. Better yet, it’s convenient! No more hassle of loading kids into the car and packing up snacks and equipment.
Besides making time to play around at home on the basketball court, parents should make sure to model healthy eating habits. Keep the pantry stocked with healthy, easily-available foods for children, such as fruits and vegetables. Try not to stock up on too many desserts or junk food snacks such as chips and cookies, and never use unhealthy food as a reward. Make sure to follow the same healthy eating standards to which you hold your children—and if you break a rule, let them call you out on it.
Cook dinner at home as often as possible; it’s much easier to maintain a healthy diet when you have control over both the ingredients and the portion sizes. Having meals together as a family has a significant impact on kids—children who eat with their parents at least five days a week eat healthier, are closer with their parents, do better in school and are less likely to get involved with drugs and alcohol.
While family exercise and healthy eating requires effort initially, it will soon become second nature. Once physical activity and nutrition habits have become ingrained, kids can play for hours at the park or on the backyard home basketball court.