6 Wellness Habits To Teach Your Kids

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Self-care is a skill children should develop to grow up as physically healthy, well-adjusted adults. Although kids are instinctive, they should learn proper behaviors to be more immune to diseases, manage their emotions and overcome adversities. As a loving mother, teach your young ones these six wellness habits.

1. Play Outside

Unstructured outdoor play is vital for children’s development in many ways. Letting them explore the world around them satisfies their curiosity and captures their imagination. Navigating obstacles in natural environments fosters critical thinking, creative problem-solving and resourcefulness. Giving your kids room to test their physical limits helps improve their confidence, adaptability and resilience. 

Immersion in nature is an effective stress reliever. Spending too much time indoors induces boredom in children. Going out can alleviate their restlessness and lift their moods through feel-good hormones.

Outdoor play is a cardiovascular activity. It gets the heart pumping and burns calories to reduce obesity risk. Sunlight exposure balances sleep-wake cycles and triggers vitamin D production, which supports bone development and immune function.

Nature is a vast playground where kids can practice their gross and fine motor skills, enhancing their dexterity, muscular strength, coordination and flexibility. The park allows your young ones to meet and play with others, teaching them valuable social skills.

2. Eat Different Snacks

Adventurous eating promotes good nutrition. The problem is that kids tend to eat only what’s familiar to them to assert independence. Taste preferences and sensory sensitivities contribute to fussy eating. Unpleasant experiences may lead to food neophobia, making your young ones reluctant to try new items.

Serve healthy, tasty snacks to encourage your picky eaters to be more adventurous. Diverse foods expose them to novel ingredients, cooking and preparation styles, flavors and textures throughout the day.

Be selective about what to feed your children. Many child-oriented products can have low nutritional quality, so think twice before shopping for processed grocery items. Instead, buy fresh ingredients from farmers markets to prepare nutritious snacks and balance your kids’ intakes of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.

Offer a combination of savory and sweet items to make every bite an exciting experience. Provide your children with various options to give them a sense of control over what they eat so they feel more empowered. Diversifying the colors of what’s on their plates matters when teaching them how to eat the rainbow.

3. Brush Their Teeth

Regular brushing is instrumental in dental health. However, some kids aren't inherently enthusiastic about it. They may find the process uncomfortable and boring. Children can be too young to appreciate the merits of good oral hygiene, and this form of self-care can feel like a chore to them.

Make every effort to excite your kids about learning to brush. They should get used to it at an early age to wipe away bacteria and sugars from the surface of their teeth, reducing their risk of developing cavities. Cavities stem from tooth decay, which can be painful and lead to infections. Structural damage to teeth affects how your kids eat, speak, play and learn, indirectly jeopardizing their physical, cognitive and social development.

Consult your children’s dentist or pediatrician to know which products to use and how often they should brush. Little ones usually begin with a soft-bristled toothbrush. Some physicians may recommend applying fluoride the moment the first tooth erupts. Drinking fluoridated tap water may promote good oral health.

Assist your kids until they have good brushing skills. Observe how they do it to correct mistakes, such as brushing too hard and rinsing their mouths with water immediately, which can wash away fluoride from toothpaste.

4. Practice Brain Breaks

Brain breaks are short mental pauses between activities. They enable the mind to refocus before doing another task and store new information more effectively. Teachers use them to keep students engaged in various classroom activities, especially when they have short attention spans.

Teaching your kids to take a break now and then helps them be more productive in whatever they do. After all, children’s ability to stay focused dips after 20 minutes, so doing something else for about one to five minutes can be revitalizing.

Brain breaks are a good time to get some air outside the house, eat a healthy snack or brush their teeth. Mild exercises, including stretching, jumping, dancing and jogging, work wonders. Listening to music, pondering recent accomplishments and watching calming videos are passive but reenergizing activities.

5. Do Nothing on Purpose

Inactivity is healthy. It sounds counterintuitive, but advising your kids to intentionally not do anything can help them de-stress and feel comfortable with boredom. Slowing down and staying away from stimulation give children more time for introspection and imagination. Being able to entertain themselves without electronic gadgets fosters creativity and hones problem-solving skills.

Avoid bombarding your young ones with too many activities. Well-rounded kids have various skills, experiences, interests and hobbies, but they also enjoy occasional downtime to recharge and self-reflect.

Encourage your kids to sleep as much as they need at night and take naps. Well-rested children are more capable of learning things, remembering information and regulating emotions.

Downtime is perfect for practicing mindfulness, allowing your children to live in the present and be more observant of themselves and their surroundings. Teach them belly breaths to induce relaxation while doing nothing. Taking a few slow-paced deep breaths has a calming effect, which helps your kids unwind and stay in control of themselves when stressed.

6. Declutter Their Room

A clutter-free space is beneficial to children’s mental health in many ways. An organized room helps lower stress levels and promotes a sense of control. Mess affects the mind, so training your kids to store their stuff adequately protects them from sensory overload and anxiety.

Decluttering increases focus. Having fewer distractions lets young learners concentrate on their homework. A minimalist room helps conserve your children’s cognitive resources because more available physical space frees up more mental room for creative play.

Tidying up aids in building routines. It signals the brain for bedtime, telling your kids when to wind down. A clean bedroom helps create a relaxed environment and promotes good sleep.

Raise Kids Who Value Self-Care 

Your children’s wellness should be your top priority. Teaching them healthy habits to nurture their sense of well-being at an early age sets them up for success.