7 Habits of Highly Healthy Families
7 Habits of Highly Healthy Families to Celebrate World Health Day!
As parents, you have a lot on your plate. Working, paying the bills, feeding, clothing, and in general raising little people that will someday rule the world. It's a lot to juggle. Add to that one area that you need to be especially mindful of: your family's health. Since April 7, 2022, is World Health Day, we thought it was an excellent opportunity to cover healthy family habits. Edington Family Fitness offers virtual fitness and online workouts for all age levels, and we invite you and your family to try a virtual fitness class on April 7, 2022, to celebrate World Health Day. Click HERE for free class.
It's much easier to instill healthy habits that prevent obesity and disease now than fix a lifetime of bad habits. By starting healthy family habits when your kids are young, they will be much more likely to continue the healthy habits you establish as a family once they become adults. And this doesn't have to be hard - it can even be fun. Check out these healthy habits you can easily start now that will benefit your family for years to come.
Spend Time Together
Your relationship with your kids is one of the most important relationships in their lives. You can foster this in many ways, and one of the best ways is to spend quality time together. Quality time fosters a sense of well-being and grows strong family bonds. You can get in quality time every day by just reading a book together, sharing a meal, taking a virtual fitness class together, or any way you find to engage as a family.
Get Moving
Family fitness should be a priority. Children ages 6 to 17 need at least 60 minutes of heart-pumping physical activity like online workouts a day. But this doesn't need to be looked at as a chore. You can easily make family fitness fun and something that the whole family looks forward to. Edington Family Fitness can help get your family moving through adult and kid-focused online workouts. Kids that see their parents regularly exercise are more likely to follow suit.
Go Outside
Equally as important as getting moving is getting outside together. Regularly setting up time outdoors as a family can have a lot of positive benefits. For starters, it's a lot easier to "disconnect" from devices outside, and being outside boosts vitamin D levels, which helps prevent chronic illness. Try to schedule at least one family outing outside a week. It can be as simple as a walk or hike, a trip to a local park, a game of catch, or shooting hoops in the driveaway. You could even take an Edington Family Fitness virtual fitness class together outside.
Cook Together
The saying "too many cooks in the kitchen" isn't true in this case. For a healthy family, you want to encourage cooking together. Getting your kids involved in meal planning, shopping, and cooking are all ways to establish and encourage healthy eating habits. Not only that, but you get to spend time together - the number one habit of healthy families.
Eat Meals Together
There are a ton of health benefits to eating together as a family. It's a good way to get in quality time, set healthy eating habits, and create an appreciation for healthy food. A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that eating as little as three meals together as a family has significant impacts on healthy eating habits in kids. Not only that, but kids who are part of families who share regular meals are less likely to smoke, use alcohol or drugs, and are more likely to get better grades. It sounds like family dinners need to make a big comeback in all families.
Be Proactive About Health
Schedule well checks for everyone in the family, and don't forget about the dentist and eye doctor. Staying on top of these appointments alert you to any health changes or issues before they become a big problem. Doing this demonstrates to your kids that you value health and wellness and will foster that same routine health care in them.
Relax Together
While physical health is important, your family's mental health is equally important. It can be very easy to get caught up in sports and social commitments, and before you know it, you find yourself on the go all the time. Planning downtime amid the chaos is good for the soul. Learn to say no occasionally and spend time at home together. Watch movies, play a board game, work on a puzzle. Spend a morning or afternoon doing nothing - just relaxing together and enjoying each other's company with no plan or agenda. You'll emerge the next day feeling refreshed and reenergized.
Edington Family Fitness programming provides an efficient total body workout through functional virtual fitness that combines strength development and high-intensity intervals. Coach Shellie is a professional athlete and certified trainer with a passion for helping people become the best version of themselves. Edington Family Fitness delivers online workouts to you and the whole family that can be done anywhere.