Keeping an average child healthy and happy is a full time job, simply because there are so many every day factors to take into account.
School runs, after-school care and activities, shopping, cooking, washing, dentist appointments and so on, the list is endless. Add working full time or an uncooperative child and the organisation of just one day can resemble a military manoeuvre.
When everyday life is a race to cope, it impacts a child’s health and happiness. It may mean that meals are less healthy for the sake of speed, important things get overlooked and there is little time to spend together, never mind quality time. If your family life is reaching this stage, it’s time to make a resolution to get back on track this year.
One great tip, which can make the situation a lot easier, is to involve your children at the planning stage. Children don’t like being told out of the blue that will have to do chores, eat healthy food or take more exercise, so sit down together each weekend and ask for their help to create a timetable for the coming week. This approach pays dividends in several ways.
Firstly, it gives you and them some family time together. They will have the opportunity to tell you about their school life, friends and likes or dislikes, helping them to feel more involved and keen to help. Secondly, this family time is the ideal moment to introduce new ideas and a good way to make them seem more like fun is to call them ‘goals’, or some other word you think will appeal.
Start with just one subject, such as healthy food, and ask the children to tell you what they know. Add to that knowledge as you go along by underlining the benefits. Next, ask them to decide what that week’s ‘goal’ should be, based on the conversation.
This may seem like a slow process, but over time it’s surprising how many good changes you can make together.
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