Raising Healthy Children Is A Family Affair

Daniella Obuwan Oshiame
3 min readFeb 16, 2022

One of the best legacies any parent can give a child is a blueprint for living an active and healthy lifestyle. Raising healthy children is not as simple as anyone may think, because it takes time, dedication, and consistency to fully raise healthy children.

As a parent, you have to stay involved in your child’s life and make healthy eating habits and an active lifestyle a family affair, because good nutrition, healthy eating habits, and an active lifestyle can protect your child from diabetes, obesity, and much other life-threatening diseases.

Tips on Raising Healthy Children

(1) Choose active time over screen time

Choosing an active time over screen time doesn’t mean you are depriving your child of having fun. A time frame should be set on all screen time. This enables you to spend quality time with your children. Active time is fun, as it gives you room to bond with your children. Instead of allowing them to spend countless hours watching television and surfing the net, encourage them to engage in fun activities like basketball, football, gardening, cooking, and other interesting activities they might be interested in.

(2) Plan healthy meals and swap out the unhealthy ones

Teaching your children how to eat healthy meals can impact their lives greatly. Always incorporate plant-based vegan healthy foods into their diet, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and tubers, that way they will grow up strong and healthy, free from diseases.

To make healthy meals more fun, educate them on nutrition, let them know that vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in fruits and vegetables will keep their hair and skin healthy, and overall boost their immunity against diseases.

Reduce fast food, as too much of it can cause Ill health. Never stop encouraging them to eat healthy so they can stay focused and be active in school.

(3) Support their pursuit

Children can always tell how much you love and value what they are interested in. So as a parent, it is very important that you create time for your children and always give them the moral support they deserve for their pursuit. You can sign them up for their favorite sports, help them practice, clap for them and show up at their games when needed.

(4) Be a role model

Children tend to practice whatever they see their parents do. Bad habits and sedentary lifestyles run in many families, and children eventually emulate these bad habits. As a parent, you should make healthy habits a priority and get your children involved in every change you make per time.

(5) Teach your children the value of appreciation

Appreciation is key to living a good life. It is advisable to teach your children at a very tender age how to appreciate the simple things of life. Teach them the five special ways; please, excuse me, sorry, thank you, and pardon me, as these will help them live a very respectable life in the future. Also, teach them the value of money and how to work diligently for it. Life is beautiful if only we know how to appreciate every little thing.

THE BOTTOM LINE

In the end, raising healthy children is indeed a family affair, though we can not always be present in their lives, and that is why we must teach them at a tender age how to navigate life, by making the right choices and adopting healthy and active lifestyles.

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Daniella Obuwan Oshiame

|Freelance, Vegan, Health & Nutrition Writer|Ghost Writer|Vegan Content Writer @PlantStand, USA & @ Casa Vegan, NG |Writer @TheHealthCity 📩 verycaya@gmail.com