Teaching Kids to Live Healthy
Teaching Kids to Live Healthy
How we got our kids excited to live a healthy and more sustainable lifestyle.
By: Marissa Bryant & Nate Short
As a parent I want to teach my children all the right things. I want them to be responsible citizens that live by the golden rule, I want them to learn about good financial sense, but more than anything I want them to learn to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. Children usually know how to be happy ( give a toddler a box and she will giggle and play all day), and fulfillment will come easy once they master the other two. It is the healthy part that was a challenge for me. With a fiance who has diabetes, hypertension, and advanced kidney disease, it is easy to show them the pitfalls. Yet and still it is hard to convince them to make healthy food choices and do the right thing. So when he suggested we buy an organic farm and start homesteading I was all in.
Having a farm meant the girls got to be hands on with growing their own food. They love eating the food they grow so much that the baby (10 years old) learned to cook and is now the chef of the house. We experiment with making our own personal care products which they really enjoy, and now they even look for brands in the grocery store that use similar ingredients to ours. And as far as exercise there are plenty of chores around the farm that they really enjoy. Anything where they get to help dad use a power tool is a go to favorite. Feeding the animals is obvious ( I mean who wouldn't love watching the tortoise come out his hole to eat). On the right day I can even get the teenager to go listen to music in the garden with dad while they work on doing routine maintenance.
Of course I know that buying a farm is not something everyone can do, so while you are waiting for us to finish developing the Life of Abundance Farms ecovillage, here are some things any parent can do to encourage their kids to want to live healthy.
Start the day with a healthy breakfast - We teach our children at home and at school to start the day with a healthy breakfast. As a family we sometimes make unicorn fruit and green smoothies (various fruits and veggies put in layers). Encourage them to drink plenty of water and fresh juices by using reusable water bottles. Make that craft time and allow them to decorate them and make it their own.. Encourage meals with whole grains, fruits, vegetables and proteins. Teach them to grow their own food either in your backyard or container garden and then they can “pick” the menu for dinner.
Teach them how to be active and keep in shape by going for walks with the family and/or pets. As a child I loved taking a walk with my parents and then going to the store to buy a piece of penny candy. Encourage them to ride a bike by allowing them to ride with you when you run local errands. Aim to inspire more physical activities and less television time. Try playing interactive video games that get them up and moving. Make exercise fun by going swimming as a family or going on a hike to find lost coins or treasure. Motivate them to be active in school sports. Before Covid my children couldn’t wait to start planning school sports activities at school.
Fun is the key. Eating healthy, staying healthy, living healthy is what we all want for our children. The overall thing is to keep them engaged in their own health by making it fun while giving them the tools to do so. Show them the right way by being active with them. Always remember eating, exercising, and living healthy does not have to be mundane (at least I would hope not or I wouldn’t want to do it either). If we as parents put a little time into making it a pleasurable family activity the kids will want to do it too !