A new school year comes a new routine. Make a pledge to educate your kids the importance of exercise and a balanced diet.
Here are 10 tips from 6abc Action News to help you help them.
1. Get their heart rate up
If your kids choose an activity that only involves sitting, it won't do much good. Teach them that active exercise such as biking, swimming, and dancing, is not only good for their health, but it creates fun.
2. Find an activity your kid loves
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that the average child ages 5-12 exercise 20-30 minutes three times per week. This means your kids must engage into an activity that they love so much that they look forward to going back tomorrow.
3. Teach safe practices
Your kid should know the importance of stretching, warming up and cooling down. This will lessen their chance of injury.
4. Talk about how it makes them feel
Teach your child how to acknowledge stress and to understand that exercise eases stress and its effects. Talk about the differencebetween staying active and feeling good.
5. Teach the five food groups
The five food groups as spelled out by the AAP are vegetables, fruits, grain, protein, dairy. Teaching your kid the categories to which the kind of food fall at an early age will help them make healthy selections.
Also teach them the amount of food they should eat from each category:
Vegetables: 3-5 servings
Fruits: 2-4 servings
Bread, cereal, or pasta: 6-11 servings
Protein foods: 2-3 servings
Dairy products: 2-3 servings
6. Keep it fresh
Processed food such as chips and other packaged snacks are not good for your health because they are high in salts and other preservatives. Keep fresh fruits and vegetables on hand for snacks.
7. Make it pretty
Kids are more likely to taste more of the food if there are a variety of colors to choose from. Make it even more appealing by turning the colors into a fun work of art.
8. Mix it up
A picky eater could put your child at risk for obesity, so teach them to try new food.
9. Eat right together
When your kids see that you're eating healthy, they will surely follow the food you eat.
