Would you die for your kids? How about LIVE for them? Your kids aren’t an excuse to avoid living a healthy lifestyle. They are the most amazing reasons to live one!
The moment our children are born, we start putting ourselves second. The kids come first- and that’s okay, to an extent. We can’t sacrifice our own health and happiness for our kids, though. They need to see us healthy and thriving so that they grow up to be healthy and thriving adults.
Having the Right Mindset for Health as a Parent
Your health mindset before kids will inevitably change when you become a parent. You’re no longer just living for yourself- you’re living for them now, too. Kids need healthy parents for many reasons, one of which is to demonstrate to them what a healthy lifestyle is all about.
The mindset that you have about your health will help form the mindset your children have about their health. Research has shown that diet and exercise preferences are formed at an early age, so the sooner you adopt a healthy mindset, the better off your children will be.
Childhood obesity is becoming a big problem, and a lot of that has to do with what we as parents are teaching our children about diet and exercise. They are bombarded with advertisements online and on television about fast food and processed foods, so it’s up to us to teach them that, while those foods are fine in moderation, a healthy diet is rich in lean protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy.
Practice What You Preach
If you are telling your children to eat healthily and exercise, then you need to do the same. Children see and hear more than we think they do, and they are watching every move we make. That’s why it’s so important to practice a healthy diet and exercise program yourself so that your children are learning the right way to live a healthy lifestyle.
Cook healthy meals as a family. Get your children involved in the kitchen and offer them a variety of new, healthy foods on a regular basis. Even picky eaters will try new things if they are exposed to them in the right way.
Make trying new foods fun by introducing a colorful selection of fruits and vegetables, cutting foods into cute shapes, and even pureeing healthy foods to hide into some of their favorite dishes like cauliflower macaroni and cheese or spinach turkey meatballs.
Exercise is just as important as eating a healthy diet. Be active with your kids for at least 60 minutes each day.
There are so many ways to stay fit as a family. Some activities include:
These activities will keep you all in shape, but you’ll be creating special memories with your children at the same time. By making a healthy lifestyle fun, you’re showing your children how to live to thrive not to simply survive.
Kids Aren’t Excuses, They’re Reasons
When you’re a busy, overwhelmed parent, it’s easy to turn your kids into excuses. You’re too tired to work out. You can’t afford healthy foods because every penny you spend goes towards them. The excuses can become endless if we let them.
The fact is that kids are never our excuses. They’re our reasons. They push us to be better people because they are watching every move we make. We’re raising these tiny humans to become happy, functioning adults, and that’s a huge responsibility.
We must take it seriously, and that starts by switching our mindset on health from “I have to” to “I get to”.
You get to teach your child how to live a healthy lifestyle. You get to make tasty, nourishing food for them. You get to spend time with them, being active as a family and making precious memories that will last a lifetime.
Your kids aren’t an excuse to avoid living a healthy lifestyle. They are the most amazing reasons to live one!
As your children watch you enjoying wholesome foods, having fun being active, and taking on an active role in teaching them how to live a healthy lifestyle, they are absorbing it all. They’re going to take those lessons with them into adulthood and pass them on to their own children.
The Next Generation
We aren’t born with healthy habits. We learn them. As we demonstrate to our children what a healthy lifestyle is, we’re also helping the next generation. Living a healthy lifestyle helps prevent diseases like diabetes and high cholesterol — something that can be passed down from generation to generation if you don’t stop it now.
You don’t want to die for your kids. You want to LIVE for them. They’ll be so grateful that you did.