How to Create a Healthy Home For Your Family
One of the unfortunate facts of life is that people rarely appreciate their health until it’s gone. You don’t think about how great it is to breathe easily through your nose until you’ve got a cold, and you never think about your teeth until they hurt.
This means that we need to be proactive. Whether you’ve got kids or you just want to create a healthier life and home for yourself, here are a few ways to form good habits.
Set the Pattern
If you have children, one of the hardest lessons to learn is that kids will be more likely to do what you do rather than what you say. If you tell your children to exercise and eat healthily, but all they see is you living an unhealthy lifestyle, they’re going to follow your example.
So, set the pattern. Change your lifestyle in the way that you want them to change theirs. Kids can spot hypocrisy from a mile off, but if they can see the benefits, then they are more likely to work with you rather than against you. This is especially important if you’re making significant changes.
Keeping Fit
By getting your children involved in outdoor play, you’re helping them to keep fit and to spend time outside. Habits formed in childhood are much more likely to stick with us, and it’s so much easier to maintain an active lifestyle than to start it later in life. Outdoor play isn’t just fun, but it also exposes us to the sun and plants, both of which have proven health benefits.
So, how can you get your kids (or yourself) to play outside?
If you have younger children, then you can play with them. This way everyone benefits. If you have a backyard, make sure it’s designed for play and exercise. Go on family hikes, bike rides, and other outdoor activities together.
Find a way of exercise that works for you and your family, and then adjust your home and life to help it to fit. This might include making sure you have flat open space in your backyard, or it might mean getting some home gym equipment so you can work out in a way that suits you.
Food and Drink
This can be one of the hardest things to change, because processed food is designed to be delicious and borderline addictive, but it’s not designed to be healthy.
Changing your diet can mean changing how you think about food. Food is fuel and it’s a pretty nice one at that. Drink water when you’re thirsty and have fizzy and sugary drinks as treats. A water filtration system can make your tap water taste better and cleaner, which is great in certain areas.
If possible, make more food from scratch. This allows you to control what goes into it and, if you learn some good recipes, you will even enjoy it more than processed alternatives. This includes snacks and small meals.
