5 Ways to Make Wellness a Family Lifestyle
What activities should we sign up for? Are my kids taking the right classes? Are they making new friends?
For parents, these questions are endless. But too often, in the rush to ensure a child’s school and social success, parents overlook an even more important topic – family fitness and wellness.
Now is a great time to make wellness part of your family’s lifestyle. The healthy eating and exercise habits you develop now can carry on throughout a child’s lifetime. Here are some helpful tips to get you on the right track:
Get cookin’. At least once a week, pick a meal in which you and your kids will shop for ingredients and prepare a meal from scratch. Go to a farmer’s market to give them a sense of where their food originates. If you have a teen-ager, put him or her in charge of an entire meal. With a young child put them to work with an easy kitchen task such as washing vegetables. If you need ideas, consider an in-home family cooking class.
Take a hike. In Central New Jersey, we are lucky to be surrounded by endless opportunities for outdoor activities – from the Delaware River to Sourland Mountain. Enjoy the fall colors or spring blossoms as well as the opportunity for uninterrupted conversation (bring a cell phone for safety, but turn it off.) With little children, set up a scavenger hunt for different-colored leaves or other “treasures.”
Enjoy the sound of silence. At least once a day, make everyone turn off all screens – cell phones, TVs, video games and computers – for an hour. We all need time to unplug and relax, especially during the very stressful early weeks of a new school year.
Make exercise a habit. Exercise doesn’t always have to be a planned workout. Try something new each day after school: play kickball in the back yard; fly a kite; or crank up the tunes and dance like fools in your living room. Not only is the activity healthy for you and your kids, but it also discourages kids from over-snacking.
Be a role model. Show, don’t tell, your kids how to eat well and exercise. Seeing you exercise is way more motivating for a child than being told to be active. Little children can only eat the food you buy. Make good choices. Choose gifts related to fitness – whether it is a jump rope, a basketball or a gift certificate to a personal trainer for your spouse.
In short, try each day to ask yourself the question we ask our fitness and wellness clients, “What are you doing that’s good for you today?”
Tammy Lyons, Health Coach, and Charles Bruno, ACE Certified Personal Trainer/owner of CB Personal Training, have partnered together to help individuals and families create comprehensive plans to realize all of their fitness and wellness goals. Contact them today at www.CB-PT.com or tammylyonshealthcoach.com or call 609.462.6364 or 609.516.5948.