The pandemic has severely impacted our daily lives, and one of the biggest ways that it did so is by making us all move less and be less physically active. With this taken into account, it becomes even more crucial for us to maintain at least some standard of healthiness for ourselves and the people dearest to us. It can be hard at times. So in this article, we will discuss some of the best ways to plan a healthy lifestyle for your family. Let’s get right into it.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Good Night’s Rest
Prioritize good sleep for every family member to have more energy and be ready for the adventure that awaits them. When you are well-rested, you have better control over your appetite, and you are more engaged in the day. Overall, you are less stressed throughout the day. So, the first step to a healthier life is putting quality sleep a top priority.
Smile
A simple smile can help you achieve a lot. Smiling isn’t only good for the one doing it, but it also calms people around you. Smiling to your loved ones shows them that you care and reduces everyone’s stress levels leading to a healthier relationship and life. Smiling allows you to deal with the stresses of everyday life, so lighten up and tell a joke once in a while.
Have Healthier Meals for the Family
Normalizing healthy but unappealing meals for children can be one of the most demanding tasks for any parent. A way to deal with this is by presenting the food several times in front of the child for them to get used to it and at some point, even be willing to try it out. That is why you need to be persistent yet not too aggressive with how you present new food. Otherwise, they will hate that food because they will relate only negative emotions to it. On the other hand, positive feedback can go a long way. This one works for people of all ages, compliment them for a healthy choice for a meal or for eating something they did not want at first. Positive reinforcement can go a long way.
Be More Active With the Family
With the pandemic limiting the physical activity we all do, there is a growing need for the entire family to be more physically active. There are several ways of making the family more active:
• Do sports or physical activities after meals to burn the calories faster
• Organize physically-engaging family activities
• Organize family road trips where you explore nature together or go biking together. It will engage you all leading to a more tight connection between family members while also exercising. However, make sure to have fitting protective gear to prevent any accidents or injuries from occurring
• Limit time spent in front of the TV, PC, and phones. Although with this one, you still need to be reasonable and not be too strict, otherwise it can backfire and lead to a worse relationship between you and the kids
Make a Contest With a Pedometer
It’s better not to judge your activities with a flat exercising session instead of opting for daily routines. A pedometer can help you constantly stay active and healthy. A way to make it more interesting and competitive is by introducing it to the family and having daily competitions on who can reach the most steps by the end of the day. The prize can be whatever the family decides upon. You effectively start an entertaining game and inspire the family members to get active and be healthier.
Decide on Fitness Goals
When you want to improve family health, it is vital to decide upon family goals to reach. Everyone should have their own tailored goal, which is realistically reachable. Afterwards, you can work on larger-scale goals once the previous ones have been reached. In other cases, if you are in similar situations, you can organize family activities to reach everyone’s goals. For example, you can organize family football matches or family walking/running activities for a set period of time.
The best way of reaching these goals is by being strict and always materializing the goals and leaving them in plain sight for everyone to see, both you and your family.
Organize Daily Family Routines
Arranging daily activities for the family can have positive effects on both the physical and mental health of all of the people involved (for obvious reasons, don’t make playing Man, Don’t Get Angry the game of choice for the family’s stress relief activity). It should be something that will both be engaging while promoting family bonding. If you were to be engaged in hydroponic farming, you can have family members take turns working around them to do chores and also get some minor exercise done.
Author bio:
Alison Pearson is an interior design student. She is a writer and designer, and her ultimate passion is art and architecture. She is also a bibliophile and her favourite book is “The Sound and the Fury” by William Faulkner. Follow her on Twitter.
