Collaborative Post
Parents have a lot on their plates these days. With children’s education, behaviour, mental health, exercise and eating habits to worry about, it can be tricky to make sure everything’s kept in check. The endless task of parenting can be made trickier if your children seem to resist everything you try to do to help them.
When it comes to health, it’s all too easy for children to begin to associate things labelled as ‘healthy’ with things that are unpleasant. A parent saying: “Eat your broccoli, it’s healthy,” is never going to win an argument over dinner.
One secret to keeping children healthy without the stress, is to make sure that they don’t spot what you’re up to! Whether it’s sneaking blended vegetables into pasta sauce or making a game out of weeding the garden, there are lots of ways to keep kids healthy without fuss and arguments. You don’t need to lie or deceive your children, you just don’t always have to tell them that they’re about to do something ‘healthy’. This will even work when you need to take your kids to a dentist like https://www.
1. Head off on an adventure together
Grab your kids scooters or bikes and set off to see what you can find. Many people have interesting places within half a mile of their house that they’ve never been to, so set off in a different direction and see where you end up. Even if it’s just a trip to the local shop to pick up some bread, cycling there is sure to be more fun than taking the car
2. Create an obstacle course
Kids of all ages love obstacle courses. Build your own out of whatever you have lying around and you can even make a timed challenge to see if they can improve on their speed. If it’s raining or you don’t have a garden, you could make obstacles indoors using chairs to crawl under and cushions as stepping stones.
3. Recreate your own youth
Kid’s love to hear bedtime stories of what their parents used to do when they were little. Remember the games you used to play in the street as a child? Describe them to your child before bed and the next day they’ll be itching to try playing street games like kerby, bulldog, keepy uppy and hopscotch.
4. Have a dance off
Blast your favourite choons and go mad jumping around the living room. You could even turn out the lights and use glow-sticks to make your own rave. Have a look on YouTube where you’ll find lots of dance routines that you can learn together. Just don’t be shocked if the little ones can out-dance the adults.
5. Gardening
As well as being good exercise, gardening is also educational and great for mental health. Once all the weeds are cleared and the leaves are collected, kids will love planting seeds and watching them grow.
6. Cooking together
Getting the children involved in cooking is a great way to encourage them to try new things. Picky eaters will be more likely to try new dishes if they’ve helped to make them. Even the youngest children enjoy buttering their own toast or chopping mushrooms with a butter knife.
7. Vitamin sweets
Giving your children multivitamins is a good idea if you’re in any way concerned that they might not be getting all the vitamins and minerals that they need every day. The chewable kids’ vitamins actually taste quite nice and if you call them ‘vitamin sweets’ and stress how they’re only allowed one per day, they might be more eager to take them. You could always get some nutrition testing done to see if they are lacking in anything – you could get 15% off vitamin testing here.
8. Teach children about their bodies
If children have a good age-appropriate understanding of the science of their bodies, it can help them to make the right decisions for themselves. For example, two-year-olds can understand that if they don’t clean their teeth then their teeth could turn black and fall out. This can encourage them to make their own decisions and clean their teeth because they want to, not just because a parent tells them too.
To conclude
Children need a lot of exercise to stay healthy and it can sometimes be a challenge to get them to eat the right things. However, with a few carefully planned activities, you can ensure that your children stay in the very best of health, without them even noticing what you’re doing.
I like the idea of fun exercise like dance-offs and I’ve heard Joe Wick’s PE is meant to be fab too. I could do with trying out a few of these on myself, haha!
Lots of fantastic ideas there! I did Joe Wicks with the children in school when I was on rota 1st week of the key worker and vulnerable children in school. He tired me out!
These are such great ideas! I am so grateful that my daughter likes her chewy multivitamins it really is a weight off my mind as sometimes she can be very picky with her food. We’ve loved the Joe Wicks PE too.
Dancing is always a great thing as you forgot how much you’re exercising as you’re having fun. I think that’s what I need to do more of just dancing round the house x
thank you – there’s some really great ideas here. Many of my friends are growing plants with their children 🙂 and have relay races round the gardens too.
Some excellent ideas here, i particularly like getting them involved in the cooking so they learn new skills and feel far more involved in the process.
I am so lucky all three girls eat a very healthy diet and love doing except ice and yoga , thanks to CBeebies 🙂 you’ve got some really good ideas though!
We love obstacle courses. One of our favourite things to do at the moment! That and creating dens!
These sound like such fun ideas! I bet it is nice getting in the kitchen and getting something made with Olivia!
Some great ideas here, we tend to do either PE with Joe every morning or Just Dance followed by beaks in the garden and a walk in the evening. Baking is also another thing we are doing often as a family to stay healthy
There’s some great ideas here. I’m ever so grateful my mum and I cooked together when I was little, I have such an appreciation for food and cooking now.