Almost to the weekend! Even though this has been a super busy week with figuring out things for our new house, meeting with potential renters and catching up on blogging stuff, it flew by fast! Does anyone else feel that way?
Anyhow, since it is Thursday, it time for another round of Thursday Tidbits! If you are new here, Thursday Tidbits is a weekly post featuring anything health, fitness or wellness related. If there is a topic you would like to see, let me know!
Yesterday, after I finished my WOD at the box, Keenan proceeded to do his “workout!” Since there were no kids at the afternoon class, he sat in a chair and watched me. As soon as I was done, he got out of his chair, gave me a hug and started doing squats, burpees and bear crawls. As he was in the middle of doing his version of a burpee, he said “Mommy, I’m doing a workout!” It was too cute! I was proud of him, but also happy to see that he is starting to pick up on exercise and see that it is a positive, fun and healthy activity. It just goes to show how influential we are as parents on the kinds of healthy habits and behaviors they develop as they get older.
If you are trying to become healthier, make sure to include your children, too. Being a healthy role model for your family and teaching them healthy habits early on is a wonderful thing, as it will set them up with a great foundation for the rest of their life. It might be a struggle to get your toddler to eat his veggies now, but with consistency and showing him that you eat your veggies, he will eventually come around to liking them and ultimately thank you later on, down the road. Children who eat healthy foods and get plenty of exercise have a lower chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes, being overweight and developing health complications when they are adults. With this alone, why wouldn’t you want to be a healthy role model?
Enjoying his healthy lunch of carrots, hard boiled eggs and avocado with “Baba!”
Here are a few healthy tips that you can incorporate into your family’s lifestyle:
– Involve your kids: Include your children in the meal planning and preparation. When going to the grocery store, ask your kids to help you choose fresh produce. This is something that I do with Keenan all the time. I have him hold the list and as we go through it, I ask him to find the fruit or veggie that we are looking for. In addition, have your children help you with dinner, such as setting the table, chopping vegetables (if old enough), mixing the salad, etc. Keenan loves to be our “Sous Chef” and help mix and add spices! The more excited you are about choosing healthy foods and preparing meals, the more excited your kids will be!
– A rainbow of colors: Include a variety of different colors of produce in your daily meals and make this a fun activity for your children. When grocery shopping, ask them what colors of produce do they see. Have them count how many colors of vegetables and fruits are in your cart. Teach them that the more colors they eat, the better they will be and feel. When sitting down for a meal, make their plates fun, putting their food in a creative shape or animal. My sister-in-law does a great job with this by using baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and other veggies to make all kinds of animals for my niece!
– Healthy snacks: Instead of purchasing processed foods, such as the 100 calorie packs of oreos or chips, have baby carrots, celery sticks and fruit washed and ready to eat in the fridge. When your kids come home from school and need a snack, serve an apple, banana or a few celery sticks with a tablespoon of peanut butter, homemade trail mix (which Keenan loves!), a little Greek yogurt and fruit, Paleo Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies, a Banana Almond Protein Smoothie or even air popped Popcorn. Not only are these healthy snacks tasty, but they will give your kids’ nutrients and the proper fuel to keep them satisfied until dinner.
– Make exercise a family affair: Involve your kids in exercise. If you have a jogging stroller, take your kids along. Go for a family bike ride on the weekend or after the kids finish their homework during the week. Take the dog for a walk with your kids, or go to the park and toss a frisbee. If you belong to a gym, bring your kids so they can see what you do and some even offer kid classes. I can’t wait until Keenan is a little older so he can start doing CrossFit Kids, since he already likes to do his “workouts!” Play outside with your kids; get a soccer, baseball or football and teach your kids how to play. If you have a Wii, get the Wii Fit and enlist the whole family to participate!
Have a great day!
Questions:
– How do you involve your kids in meal planning and preparation?
– What kinds of activities do you like to do with your kids?
– Who was a healthy role model in your life while growing up? My mom and grandma were big advocates for eating healthy and staying active, so I learned a lot from them. My mom played on adult soccer and softball leagues, and even jogged up an until she was seven months pregnant with me! A statement that I live by which my grandma always said, “You have one body, so you need to take care of it”
My daughter ran her first race (1/2 mile!) at 3 years old. She did the whole thing (most of the kids turned around!) and she was SO proud of herself. This year, at 4, she feels like an old pro. She has a running skirt like Mama, a running shirt, some New Balance running shoes, and her first race of the season is next month. She’s practicing now. After the run, I’ve got some compressions socks for her (ok, they’re just knee highs). She’s gonna be a gear junky, just like her Mama.
That is awesome and SO cute that she has the same gear as you! I believe is so crucial for us as parents to be good role models for our kids and instill healthy habits early on. I’m hoping my son continues to show interest in CrossFit, as I can’t wait to put him in CrossFit Kids next year!
I love to get my daughter involved with meal planning and eating healthy. I do buy the occasional “bad” treat (currently Pillsbury toaster strudels; I know….CRINGE!!!!!, but I told her that’s it for while so make ’em last!) I think it’s OK to give into that once in a while, but I’d say 98% of the time, there are no unhealthy choices.
I know you already know this from reading my blog, but Courtney and I do our karate together AND she’s going to participate in the 5K with me coming up. She also spars with my husband and me and she’ll do workout DVD’s with me, too. I’ve even heard her up before school on occasion doing one! 🙂 I did not have a healthy role model growing up……it was something I became concious about on my own, although I didn’t know much back then!
I agree about eating healthy 98% of the time and allowing yourself some splurges the other times. We need to enjoy and indulge every once in a while. I think that is awesome that you and your daughter do Karate together and that she is going to do the 5K! What a wonderful role model you are for her!
My kids are older now but my son (17) loves to bake. Which is great when we want treats around here! I probably wasn’t as active with my kids as I could have been but we did enjoy going outside and playing in the summer. I always worked out in front of them but didn’t make them join me. If they wanted to, I always made room for them.
I think if I had young kids like you now, I would do things differently. There are a lot more resources now with blogging to know how to incorporate a healthy life for your kids.
That is so nice that your son loves to bake! I can’t wait for Keenan to be old enough to cook and bake for us! 🙂 He just loves to help us in the kitchen right now, so I hope it continues. You are certainly right on the amount of resources out there on incorporating healthy habits for your kids; I think there is almost too much!