healthy routines for children

In spite of the best efforts a parent makes, it is not easyto make the right decisions all the time. Sometimes it is much easier to simply goalong with child’s wishes, but that is something that must not be done. Aparent has to show love and affection, but it is also necessary to be firm and to stick tosame basic rules.

The importance of healthy routines for children

One of the major problems is obesity. It is well known thatit is much easier to prevent than to heal, but it is much more difficult toapply that. Children should have 5 meals, 3 main and 2 snacks and, of course, nobad food is allowed. And that is where the problem begins, since children like candies, sweets, sodajuices, and it is hard to explain to them the importance of healthy food. Theproblem is in other kids who eat junk food and set a bad example. Even thoughhealthy food is important, from time to time, kid should eat something that isnot on a healthy menu. Strict rules sometimes can be counterproductive. Eatinghealthy is just one of the several healthy routines for children that should beapplied while time for play is another routine. It should be clearly explained to achild how much time is allowed for play, and that time should include both, physical activityand time in front of TV and computer. There should also be the time for a childto be with parents, in order to develop the child’s social skills and also to talkto it about his daily activities, school, homework and other things. Physical activity isvery important for a growing child. Also, if physical activity is increased,healthy meals should be present, but snacks with some bad calories are not thatdangerous in this case. Regular sleeping is very important for a physicaldevelopment and there can be a problem if a child is allowed to stay late,which some parents do alow, especially on weekends.

Tips for healthy routines for children

Since the child looks up to his parents, it is of greatimportance that parents follow the same rules that they want to apply to achild. Exercises, healthy food, healthy relations in the family, all this hasto be accomplished in order for a child to grow properly. It is not easy, andsometimes coordinating efforts with school might be a good idea. Tolerance andthe firm stance might be the key for being a good parent.