According to new statistics on homework around the world, children in the United States could stand to benefit from more play and creative time, and less time on homework, to be healthier mentally and physically. And there’s no better time than the impending new year to shake up your child’s routine and promote a healthier lifestyle.
Summer Blackhurt, of Go Au Pair, elaborates, “New Year is the best time to put together family goals. Figure out where you have been in the last year and where you want to go. In the home, the best way a parent can prepare their kids for school and real life is to build specific skills and talents because these things build confidences.”
Raising a healthy child is a high priority for most parents, and the following tips can help be a guide for some ways to add more health to your family environment.
Go technology free. Today many children and adults are tethered to their mobile device. Going for a full day without a phone, tablet or computer might seem like an extreme step, but this act of disconnecting from technology can help promote a child’s ability to be creative or play with other children, such as their own siblings.
Puzzles and games. When you incorporate a technology free day, puzzles, board games and word challenges can help fill the void. Long known as an aide to help senior citizens maintain mental health, doing a crossword puzzle together as a family can be like a group scavenger hunt. Without accessing Google or Wikipedia, children are challenged to truly consider answers using their own brain and base of knowledge.
Learn the alphabet… backwards. While children grow up learning the alphabet song, learning to say the letters backwards can provide a good mental exercise. To add excitement, hold a contest for who can do this the fastest while being accurate.
Ride a bike. While learning to ride a bike was seen as a right of passage for children growing up in years past, today many kids haven’t even gotten on a bicycle, much less been challenged to learn how to ride one. Consumed with technology options, giving your child access to a bicycle can open their world. While initially learning to ride a bike is riddled with bumps, bruises, and self-doubt, you will give you child a skill that will last a lifetime. After all, it’s just like riding a bike, right?
Read the labels. Because the FDA mandates food to be labeled with its true ingredients, start a habit of looking and reading the labels of your child’s favorite goodies. A good general rule is to stay away from high fructose corn syrup because it causes uncontrollable hunger, nitrites because they have been linked to brain cancer and any chemicals you do not recognize or can’t pronounce. Often you will find that healthier chemical free products are sitting on the safe shelf as those with known toxins. While they may cost a few cents more, you will be on your way to a healthy child.
Acts of kindness. In our culture today, crass is in and more acceptable than ever. While being free to speak your mind can be seen as a desirable skill, what’s been sacrificed is our ability to be kind. Brainstorm with your child a random act of kindness they can do for a stranger or a friend. Helping a child get outside their selfish boundaries will open their eyes to the beauty they have the power to create if they just take this small step. Showing them that they do not need to expect something in return also can foster a strong sense of citizenship and a love for just “doing the right thing.”
Get some perspective. When challenges arise like a cell phone battery dying or a crayon breaks, help your child see that these are lower priority problems in their life. Talking about children in third world countries can be effective but also potentially traumatic. Instead, have them list the things in their life for which they are grateful. Building a healthy perspective in your child will help them when they get older.
Teach gratitude. In a consumer driven society, we are pounded with images of “more.” We are conditioned at every turn to want something bigger, faster or better than what we have now. Learning to be content and grateful for the blessings in life is something that both a healthy child and a healthy adult can benefit. Taking a minute at bedtime to reflect on all of the things we are grateful to have can begin teaching this important life skill.
Dr. Gene Beresin, of the Clay Center, put things into perspective by summing up the tips with this final suggestion, “Materialism is not new in our country. As a consumer-based society, our kids are not immune to wanting more and more material things – from Pokémon Cards to Tablets. The pressure to have the latest running shoes, coolest headphones, or best doll ever is alive and well…Instead, help our kids of all ages become more socially pro-active and work toward helping others is really important at this time in our history. We all know the cliché that giving is better than receiving.”
Natural News DT
