Por Fiorella Quirós Mata – Education degree student
As it is known, bad habits are difficult to break. That is why it is important to build healthy habits at a young age because they help children to grow up to be happy and successful adults. Moreover, they also prevent health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart diseases (Martinez, 2019). Nowadays, children spend more time staring at screens than doing exercise, playing and relaxing. Furthermore, parents are busier than ever, and for them is easier to give children fast food than cooking real food. Also, they sometimes feel sorry about not spending time with their children, so they please them buying food with lots of sugar and fat. However, it is important to be aware of these problems and try to change for the good of the kids.
There are some reckless bad habits that children need to get rid of because they might be affecting their life. First, skipping breakfast, it is proved that kids who do breakfast are less irritable and better able to process information, they pay attention and do well on tests (SanSone, 2012). Besides that, not playing outside because they lack exercise; therefore, they become sedentary. Moreover, not eating all kind of food, especially fruits and vegetables (SanSone, 2012). Finally, drinking juice with lots of sugar instead of water.
To start with, the most important thing is to remember that children need a role model. Most of the time, those role models are their parents; therefore, it is necessary to have good habits because children will be more likely to get those habits (Pope & Romito, 2018). If parents try to have a balanced diet, do regular exercise, drink water and be positive most of the time, children will be more likely to have healthy habits. Try to spend time with your children and teach them about the benefits of eating healthy food.
According to Martinez (2019), there are 3 pillars of a healthy lifestyles. The first one is a balanced nutrition. It is fundamental for kids to have it because it helps them for the development of brain, muscles and body. Moreover, try to sit always on the table as a family, because it might help to develop a healthy relationship with food. Also, get kids involved in food preparation, so they know what they will eat, and they will have a greater understanding of where their food comes from (Helping create healthy habits in kids, n.d.).
The second pillar is physical exercise. Encourage kids to try sports or anything that they like that involve movement. That helps on the growth and self-esteem. The faster they develop a weekly workout routine, the easier it will be for them to do exercise (Martinez, 2019). The last pillar is resting and sleeping because they ensure the function of our bodies, including our physical endurance, mood, memory, digestion, and even the condition of our skin, so it is important to sleep 6 to 8 hours (Martinez, 2019).
To sum up, children need to learn healthy habits since they are kids because it would be easier for them to remember them. Acquiring healthy habits starts from home, and the habits of the parents are really important because they are the role model of the children.
