What Are The Best Healthy Habits For Kids?
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of habits? Our guess is that you might think of things with negative connotations--bad habits or nervous habits. Things you want to eliminate from your life like smoking or nail biting.
Can habits be considered good? YES!
It turns out a habit isn’t just something you set a New Year’s Resolution to STOP doing--habits are also something you want to start. If you want to exercise more often, for example, you do it enough that it becomes a habit. If you want to eat more fruits and vegetables, you have to make it a habit to add them to the menu.
Can My Kids Create Healthy Habits?
Absolutely! If you want your kids to start getting to bed at a regular time, set their clothes out the night before, or even learn a new language, the way you do it isn’t by introducing a chore chart with consequences if they don’t get it done. You don’t just tell them you want them to do something--. You have to tell them WHY and you have to have a reason that gets them excited.
There’s a huge difference between “You need to set your clothes out the night before because you stress me out way too much in the morning,” and “You need to set your clothes out the night before so we can get ready for school and get to the bus stop on time.”
What Are The Best Healthy Habits For My Kids?
Here’s the thing--the best healthy habits for your kids depend on...your kids--their ages and stages, your family, and what’s important to you. While your best friend’s kids might make their beds every day before school, if that’s not important to you, then there’s no reason to introduce it. Think about places in your life where you’d like a little more freedom--do you need a less hectic morning routine? Is bedtime a battle? Do you want your kids to try more vegetables or exercise more often? Start by making a list of healthy habits you’d like to introduce...just make sure you can explain why it’s so important.
If you want some help, our Habitized Home Guide is a great place to start. We share our Habitize Roadmap system for choosing the right habits to focus on for your child along with ways to overcome power struggles when introducing habits and printables to get started right away!
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