Guest post by Emily Graham (1/20/22)

Raising physically and mentally healthy children in this modern-day age is a little more challenging than what parents in the baby-boomer era had to deal with. Technology has created computers, the internet, smartphones, and numerous interactive social platforms and applications that you and your children use to your benefit every day. However, it also poses specific challenges.

Children are less active and more vulnerable than ever before, and parents need to become actively involved in their children’s lives to guide them and help them make healthy life choices. Here are a few of the most critical areas you can help your child with.

1.    Foster Healthy Eating Habits

Parents can teach healthy eating habits from a very early age, laying the foundation for a happier and healthier child. Parents should set an example by making healthy choices themselves. Take your child to the market with you, and include them in selecting healthy foods that they enjoy. Make mealtimes a family event for sharing. Prepare meals and lunch boxes that are both healthy and appealing. Include fruit and vegetables in your child’s daily diet and encourage them to drink plenty of water.

2.    Encourage Physical Exercise

Physical exercise is not only necessary for creating strong and healthy bodies, but it also stimulates brain activity, strengthens cognitive abilities, improves endurance, and teaches your child social skills, including how to deal with disappointment. Encourage your child to participate in a sport or other physical activities, and schedule regular outings that will encourage some form of exercise for the whole family.

3.    Educate Them about Drugs and Alcohol

Peer pressure, drug abuse, and alcohol are often a concern for parents, particularly those of teenagers. Help your child understand the risks of substance abuse and alcohol. Many teens will try various substances at some point, but being educated about drugs can help them to choose—or decline—wisely. Take an interest in your child’s life and friends, as well. While you cannot protect them against everything, you can give them the tools they need, including sympathetic help. Remember that you need to be a role model yourself—if you drink regularly, you can’t expect them not to. 

4.    Make the Right Career Choice

Children follow by example, and this is especially true for parents. You are your child’s first role model. Spend quality time with your child during the formative years so that you can identify and recognize your child’s talents and preferences. Several institutions offer advanced online degrees, making it possible for parents to further their studies while fulfilling family responsibilities. One example is a master’s degree in information technology, which is becoming one of the most sought-after professional skills as our lives are becoming more technology-driven. Many children want to become like Mom or Dad, and if you actively pursue your passions and interests, it signals the message that anything is possible and that they can also achieve their dreams.

5.    Provide (and Model) Skills for Life

Helping your child make healthy life choices and involving them in the process from an early age will set your child on a path of emotional stability, maturity and physical well-being.

Explore more of this and similar sites for more tips and resources on how to raise happy, healthy and compassionate children.

Guest post © Emily Graham 2022 | All rights reserved | Initially published on Tips n Tidbits in January 2022 with permission