As a parent, you need to focus on your kid’s habits because they will impact their future habits. If once you developed the right habits, they will behave well and will become a gentleman or lady later.
Let’s see what habits to change:
Making colorful eating
Eating a multicolor meal is not just fun for them but important thing is that they will gain different multivitamins from different colored foods. It does not mean to make their meal colorful every day and it is just to give the idea of giving different nutritional value to the kids through their diet.
Don’t skip breakfast
Instilling a regular breakfast and meal routine is great for your kids and it will help them gain a proper energy boost from their breakfast. Harvard medical school suggests that you should feed high-fiber foods to your kids to save them from diabetes and heart disease.
Keep them hydrated
Kids are growing beings and need support with proper liquidation and should teach them to develop a habit of keeping them hydrated. Today, a kid at younger age starts energy drinks that are not right for them at a younger age. Give them energy drinks occasionally.
Pick enjoyable physical activities
Not every child is fond of physical activities. Spend some time with your children playing football, cricket, volleyball, baseball, and much more. it will help them grow fully and develop their mental strength and physic too. Introduce them to swimming, archery, or gymnastics to give them a healthy habit.
Read everyday
Developing strong reading skills is essential for a kid’s development. A reading habit helps in a child’s relationship, self-esteem and parenting too. We cannot deny the fact that reading will support them in their educational development too. Cleveland Clinic suggests that reading can be started at early as the age of 6 months.
Look at labels
Your preteens or teens might be interested in labels on their clothes but it is more important for them to check the labels of food items to know the ingredients and know about them the nutritional value of the product. Tell them at least to check important ingredients such as calories, grams of sugar, Tran’s fat, and saturated fats to keep them alert about health safety.
Enjoy a family dinner
It is possible to find times in your hectic working schedule to spend time with your kids but there are multiple benefits to it such as:
Family bonds get stronger
Kids are better adjusted
Everyone eats more nutritious meals
Kids are likely to be obese or overweight
Kids are likely to abuse alcohol or drugs
Drink water, no soda
You can simply guide them that water is healthy and soft drinks are not healthy. Even if your kids don’t understand that excess sugar is bad for them and then teach them the basics. The sugar in soft drinks provides no nutrients. It can lead to weight problems as well.
Spend time with friends
Friendship is important for school-going children and their health and mental development. Playing sports with friends improves various skills such as cooperation, problem-solving, and communication skills. Encourage your children to play with different friends as they can learn different skills from different kids and can develop a good habit. Also, watch, they are not developing bad habits.
Stay positive
Help your kids stay positive in school, at home, and playing with friends. Tell them they can develop a habit of positive self-esteem, and a positive mindset and they are also loveable, capable, and unique no matter what the situation is.
Save your kids from COVID-19
COVID-19 has not completely gone from different parts of the world and parents must take precautionary measures for their kids. Make it a habit for kids to wash their hands for 20 seconds with alcohol-based sanitizer or with soap. Make sure your kids don’t come in close contact with sick people and prevent them from taking to the public gathering. Make sure they wear a mask in school, on a bus, and while playing. Teach your kids to cover their faces while sneezing or coughing and if a child is not wearing the mask, they should use an elbow for this.
Healthy Hydration
Drinking soft drinks is the most common habit that children loved but you need to make your children aware of the importance of drinking water and soda. Tell them water is full of oxygen and other healthy elements as compared to soft drinks that is having lots of sugar content and calories. Drinking soft drinks more can increase their weight and also some other diseases. Water is a healthy choice for hydration and good for health. Also, some natural energy drinks like Yerba Mate energy drinks can be considered for an energy boost.
Clean up the mess
Cleanliness should be taught to children at an early stage so that they become habitual of organizing things. When they watch arranging and properly ordering things, they also get inspired and love to keep things organized. If you don’t teach them, they won’t learn this and will not learn anything.
Be responsible with the money
As soon as your children start learning about saving and effective use of money, you can teach them about the value of hard-earned money. You can get your children into the habit of saving money and give them money as needed and also save money in their piggy bank.
Sharing is caring
Children should know the value of being grateful and modest enough to share their things with children who cannot afford them. Also, teach them that intangible things such as emotions, feelings, and stories are the best things to share with grandpa, grandma, cousins, and siblings and with others too. The attitude of sharing will make them a better person in life.
Don’t litter public spaces
Raise your children to make them good and responsible citizens of society. Explain to them why public places are not the place for littering and you should always throw waste things in a dustbin. Help them to understand this and ask them to follow this. Make a habit of them not littering in public places and they will follow you. Always look for a dustbin near you to throw your waste things. You can also carry a plastic bag to deposit the waste if you don’t find a dustbin near you and can collect paper, napkins, and empty water bottles. Bring it to your home and dispose of it in the dustbin near you.
Be courteous
Being courteous is a virtue that everyone loves. Teach your kids to respect elders or young people. Tell them what problems can arise if they don’t speak well and don’t polite and decent to others. These qualities will help them gain respect in their life and also will respect others. Start from your home respecting maid, servants, and arriving guests respect by children. If they are consistently respecting all of these, they will respect the people outside too.
Be unbiased
Children are innocent and unbiased and distinction is a part of social conditioning. Tell your children to stay away from the tendency to discriminate. Guide them to be unbiased and should treat every people the same whether it is poor or rich. Encourage them to be friends beyond caste and status.
Exercise regularly
Set a time with your children for exercise in the morning such as jogging, walking, exercise, swimming, and yoga at home. Exercise will be helpful for all family members in the long run. It will keep your children fit and flexible. It will set up a healthy lifestyle for your kids and you. Add some music to keep them excited about it. The best way to keep them healthy is to play sports and teach them life lessons of sportsmanship.
Be Honest
Honesty is the best thing that you would teach to your kids and be a role model in their life. Tell them your words and actions have an impact on their life. Be honest with them all the time and encourage them to speak the truth in all possible circumstances.
Please, thank you, and sorry
You should teach your children to use magical words please, thank you, and sorry. It will help them tackle many issues. Using these words make them respected in society and children will become polite and kind-hearted person. Teach them when, where, and how to use these words and they will frequently use them in society.
Conclusion
Kids are in their beginning stage of human development with blank hearts. Whatever you teach or develop in them will stay for a long time. Keep teaching them about eating, drinking, hygiene, speaking, reading, talking, and much more you feel necessary for them. It will give them a base for their upcoming adult life. The more you teach them, they will get better over time. Children have a blank heart and whatever you develop different habits in them and they will become a gentle person in the society.
