
With each passing day, your child learns and develops his physical and mental skills, and you as a parent would want to contribute your best to ensure that your child learns and adopts healthy habits from the very beginning.
Parental pearls of wisdom
As a parent, you pass more than genes down to your children. Kids pick up your habits too — both good and bad.
In fact, your baby learns a lot from you- and if you yourself stick to a healthy lifestyle, it won’t really be difficult when it comes to helping your baby learn.
As a responsible parent, taking care of your kids’ health and teaching them to follow healthy habits is very essential. This is the path to preventing infections and keeping various illnesses away.
We have compiled a few healthy tips to help kids stay healthy every day!
Habit 1: Wash Up!

Hand washing undoubtedly tops the list when it comes to getting your kid into a healthy habit- explain the importance of washing hands to your little kid, and also focus on the correct techniques – 20 seconds is a must for children.
Teach your kids to wash their hands with soap or hand wash liquid. Rinse well with water after using the bathroom and before eating food. The same must be followed after they come home from playing outdoors as it would help to prevent your kid from getting any kind of infection from other kids.
Habit 2: Make eating colorful
Eating foods of different colors isn’t just fun — it has health benefits too. Help your kids understand the nutritional value of including a rainbow of colorful foods in their regular diet.
That doesn’t mean that every meal needs to be multicolored. But you should make an effort to incorporate a range of fruits and vegetables of different hues into their diet. Let the colors range from red, blue, and orange, to yellow, green, and white.
Habit 3: Don’t skip breakfast
Instilling a routine of regular meal times in childhood can help make it more likely that your kids will continue this good habit when they’re older. Teach them that a healthy breakfast:
- kick starts their brain and energy
- helps keep them strong
- keeps chronic diseases at bay
Harvard Medical School confirms that going without breakfast correlates with four times the likelihood of obesity. And the high fiber in many breakfast cereals can help reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Watch the sugar content, though.
Habit 4: Pick enjoyable physical activities
Not every child loves sports. Some may dread gym class. But if they see you being active and find physical activities they enjoy, staying healthy and active becomes easy.
They may very likely carry their love of these activities into adulthood.
If your child hasn’t found their sports niche yet, encourage them to keep trying, and be active with them. Expose them to a range of physical activities like swimming, archery, or gymnastics. They’re bound to find something they enjoy.
Habit 5: Don’t be a couch potato
Get kids, and yourself, off the sofa and out the door. Kids who watch more than an hour or two of television a day are at greater risk for a number of health problems, including:
- impaired performance at school
- behavioral difficulties, including emotional and social problems and attention disorders
- obesity or being overweight
- irregular sleep, including trouble falling asleep and resisting bedtime
- less time to play
Habit 6: Read every day
Developing strong reading skills is an essential component of your child’s success in school now, and at work later in life.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, reading helps build a child’s self-esteem, relationships with parents and others, and success in later life.
It’s recommended you make reading a part of your child’s playtime and bedtime routines.
The Cleveland Clinic also suggests that daily reading to children can begin as early as 6 months of age.
Choose books your kids like so that they view reading as a treat rather than a chore.
Habit 7: Drink water, not soda
You can keep the message simple. Water is healthy. Soft drinks are unhealthy.
Even if your kids don’t understand all of the reasons why too much sugar is bad for them, you can help them understand the basics.
For example, the sugar in soft drinks provides no nutrients. It also adds calories that can lead to weight problems. Water, on the other hand, is a vital resource that humans can’t live without.
Habit 8: Look at labels (food labels, not designer)
Your kids, especially pre-teens, and teens, may care about the labels on their clothes. Show them there’s another type of label that’s more important to their health: the food nutrition label.
Show kids how their favorite packaged foods contain labels with vital information about nutrition.
To avoid overwhelming them, focus on a few key parts of the label, such as the amount per serving of:
- calories
- saturated fats and trans fats
- grams of sugar
Habit 9: Enjoy a family dinner
With hectic family schedules, it’s hard to find time to sit down and enjoy a meal together. But it’s worth it to try.
Sharing a family meal means that:
- family bonds get stronger
- kids are more well-adjusted
- everyone eats more nutritious meals
- kids are less likely to be obese or overweight
- kids are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol
Habit 10: Spend time with friends
Friendships are very important to the healthy development of school-aged children, according to research published in the Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review.
Playing with friends teaches kids valuable social skills such as communication, cooperation, and problem-solving. Having friends can also affect their performance in school.
Encourage your kids to develop a variety of friendships and to play with friends often. It will set them up with life skills they can draw on for years to come.
Wait…that’s not it! We have Two Bonus Points (Habits for you to teach your kid)
Habit 11: Stay positive
It’s easy for kids to get discouraged when things don’t go their way. Help them learn resilience when they experience setbacks by showing them the importance of staying positive.
According to research in the Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, children, as well as adults, can benefit from positive thinking and good relationships.
Help your kids develop healthy self-esteem and a positive mindset by teaching them they are lovable, capable, and unique, no matter what challenges they encounter.
Habit 12: Make Your Kids Get Good Amount Of Sleep:

Kids within the ages from 5 to 12 require at least 10 or 11 hours of sleep at night to maintain their health.
Your children should go to sleep at the same time every day; regular sleep pattern can help them to be more attentive in classes, stay in a better mood during the day and build immunity. For small kids, having a story time or a favorite doll near them would help to sleep peacefully.
We hope after reading this article on good healthy habits for kids, you probably collected several ideas to inculcate habits in your kid. Following these simple tips may help your kid follow a healthy lifestyle right from his childhood.
Reference: Healthline.com
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