It’s no secret children often imitate their parents. That’s how they learn to talk, walk, eat and do all of the basic necessities life requires of them.
What is your child learning from you?
So if you want your child to learn important healthy habits, start while they’re young.
See these healthy habits your young children will learn from you.
Brushing and Flossing
Getting a child to brush and floss their teeth is a heavy task in and of itself. But this is one of those great tasks children learn from you! If you give a small child a toothbrush and show them how to use it by demonstrating on yourself, they will naturally be inclined to imitate you.
Brush your teeth in the presence of your child each morning and night, and make sure they participate with you. This will not only prevent many visits to the children’s dentist, but it will help them create a lifelong habit resulting in good dental health.
Getting Active
Do you like to lounge in your living room watching Netflix day after day, or do you prefer a more active lifestyle? Children generally take after their parents when it comes to physical activity.
And when you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. Of course, a child would sit with their parents and watch TV if that’s what they’re doing.
But if you go outside and work in the yard, your child will follow you outside to play, or if you’re dancing to music while doing chores, your child will likely dance along too.
Healthy Eating
You had to know this one was coming. Children gravitate towards the foods their parents eat.
How many times has your child asked for a drink of your soda or a bite of your candy? If the food in your home, that you cook and eat the majority of the time, is healthy, it will be much easier to implement healthy eating habits in your child.
Make and eat healthy foods. They’ll have to eat healthy foods too (they might even learn to enjoy it).
Grooming
Anybody have a child that doesn’t like to bathe? You are not alone.
But this is another habit your child can learn from you. Tell your child when you are taking a bath or a shower.
This will let them know you value cleanliness. And if they’re aware of when and how often you clean yourself, they will be more inclined to follow.
The same goes for brushing your hair and dressing nice (of course a child’s idea of dressing nice might be vastly different from your own idea of dressing nice).
Drinking Water
This definitely goes along with healthy eating, but drinking water also deserves its own category. We know how important it is to drink water – it helps just about every bodily function, including digestion, circulation, saliva creations, maintaining body temperature, absorbing essential nutrients and so much more.
Help your child learn this immensely important habit while they’re young by setting an example. Drink water around them often.
When you go out to a restaurant with your family, choose water over soda or juice. Don’t keep juice or soda in your home.
This will help you and your child drink more water.
Washing Hands
Children are exposed to so many variations of colds and bugs that are often transferred through their hands – climbing on the playground at school, sharing toys, playing in the dirt, coughing and wiping their nose, etc.
Setting an example is a great way to implement this healthy habit in your child. When you are done using the bathroom, open the door as you are washing your hands so your child can see and hear you are doing that.
Wash your hands in the kitchen sink before dinner. Another thing you can do is remind them.
As your child leaves the bathroom, ask them if they washed their hands, or simply give them a gentle reminder if you know they didn’t do so.
As they get older, it gets harder to implement these habits, so teach them while they’re young!
When you raise children, there are health issues you need to be aware of so you know what symptoms to look for and how to care for them. Some health issues are inevitable.
You’ll have to find ways to deal with them as a family. On the other hand, there are four health concerns children face on a daily basis that can be addressed as soon as they’re noticed.
