Healthy living for the whole family

This article first appeared on Run Stroller Run and is republished here with permission.

As a mom, I strive to model healthy living to my toddler daughter Emma through my food choices and regular exercise. Since I work as a Holistic Health Coach and a fitness instructor, my daughter has been exposed to healthy living from a young age. Ensuring that she is involved in my choices has been the best motivation for me to follow a healthy path.

There are numerous ways to include your entire family in the decision to lead a healthier life, but I find that it is best to keep it simple. Modeling healthy choices for your children is a great way to ensure that they also strive to follow a healthy lifestyle.

 

Healthy Food Choices

When it comes to meals, I keep my daughter involved with food selection and preparation. One of the easiest ways to do this is to take your children food shopping. I usually bring Emma to the grocery store and the farmers market and I keep her entertained by letting her make decisions about what to buy. For example, I will ask her to decide whether we should buy blueberries or strawberries. She always gets excited when she gets to choose which food to put into the cart.

I won’t lie; she had one or two complete meltdowns in the grocery store. Last summer, she knocked over an entire crate of tomatoes at the farmer’s market. Despite these incidents, I feel bringing her grocery shopping is a simple way to keep her involved in our family’s food choices and worth the risk of her having a tantrum.

Although Emma is too young to help with food preparation, she uses a mixing bowl and ladle to “cook” while I am making meals. She basically just bangs the ladle on the bowl, but it helps her to feel involved in the process of cooking. If your kids are older and you want them to help with cooking, have them assist with basic tasks like shucking corn or washing lettuce.

Exercising with your Family

Exercising with your kids is a great way to include your family in healthy living. You can keep it simple by going on a family walk on a nice day. Play tag in the backyard. Run around the playground instead of sitting in front of the television. Go on a hike with your family on a local trail. These are all easy ways to keep your children active. Leading an active lifestyle with the whole family keeps both kids and adults fit.

There are many ways to stay active with your children, even if they aren’t walking yet. I have exercised with my daughter since she was a few months old. Even though she is almost two, I still bring her in the stroller when I go on runs and walks. In addition, she attends Stroller Strides with me, which is a mommy and me fitness class. She likes to do squats during class and mimics many of the exercises.

If there are no mommy and me fitness classes where you live, consider simply working out with your child nearby. Explain that you are going to exercise and invite your child to watch or join you.

Lastly, I always make a point to tell my daughter how happy exercise makes me. I hope that this helps her understand the importance of fitness.

Healthy living doesn’t have to be complicated. Including your children in simple tasks like food shopping and walking can be enough to keep them involved and excited about being a part of your family’s healthy lifestyle.

How do you keep your family healthy? I would love to hear more ideas in the comments!