How To Teach Your kids to Use their Body
This is part two of a three part series. If you missed part one, find it here. If you missed part three, find it here.
Continuing on our series in children learning, we are going to discuss some topics of health. Physical movement, food and sleep are very important. Children need resources on proper and healthy ways to move their bodies, what to eat to keep healthy and get enough sleep so they function tomorrow. Discover ways to implement healthy habits with your family as you read this post.
Teaching kids the importance of taking care of their body by exercising
As a child, no one at home ever asked if I would go run to the end of the street and back, or do 100 pushups. There wasn’t anyone in my house that exercised regularly. It wasn’t a standard in our house. The only exercise we got was the walk to the bus stop and what the gym teacher made us do as far as running, stretching or playing a sport. Eventually I played sports and there was some additional regiment to get out and move but there wasn’t reinforcement at home to keep the habits or let them stick.
So, how do we keep our kids on the move. Not that we need to drive them like cattle but they should have a fair amount of energy burn during the day.
It has been reported that bike desks help kids keep their attention and use more of their brain in the classroom. They accomplished this by supplying bike desks, stationary bikes on the bottom, desk on top, to all children and let them move as needed.
There is also recess and gym class, also called P.E. or Physical Education, that will give children an opportunity to get out and move.
We cannot rely on schools to provide all of the physical activity in our children’s lives. Parents should take the initiative to play with their kids physically, run with them, play sports with them and get them moving. Not only will they be doing physical activity, they are developing healthy habits for their growing bodies. This will also get you moving and that is a win win win.
Teaching Kids the importance of taking care of their body by eating healthy
What parent doesn’t want to help their kids be healthy? The importance of healthy habits has a lifelong benefit to kids. As they learn proper habits early it will enable them to overcome the desire for non-healthy habits later.
We have all been in the situation when we first move out on our own and suddenly have to provide meals for ourselves. We start eating out because of the convenience, then we can’t afford it so we turn to cooking Ramen or some other pasta or rice dish because it is cheap. We pack on the junk food cakes and candy and then ten years later, we have gained 40 lbs., lost all ambition and are extremely tired.
The importance of teaching children healthy habits comes into play at this moment. It is the moment your adult kids realize that they need to change and they will fall back on the healthy habits they learned at home.
Teaching Kids the importance of taking care of their body by getting enough sleep
For most parents the time to get things done is when the kids are in bed. Cleaning, organizing, relaxing, shopping, etc. we parents take care of personal business without kids around. That is just a simple way to expedite mundane, mandatory things.
That should be the only reason children get some sleep at night. We have a bedtime of 8:30pm but other parents we know range from 7:00pm to 10:30pm on their kids’ bedtime. Each family is different and a regiment that works for your house should be set. There are some interesting facts about sleep for kids though.
All kids under the age of 12 it is recommended to get 12 hours of sleep, according to a John Hopkins Medicine post.
Another medical professional went on to say that the sleep cycle is usually interrupted by parents and more should be done to preserve the natural needs of children to sleep, which should override parents’ desires to get children to bed. Stated plainly, Marc Weissbluth states,
“I believe parents can promote more charming, calm, alert behaviors by becoming more sensitive to their growing child's need to sleep and by helping to establish and maintain healthy sleep habits. The goal is to recognize and respect your child’s need to sleep and not do things that interfere with the natural sleep process.”^1
It is important to note that irregularity in sleep patterns does not deter from brain development.^1
The point we are driving home is that, not only is it a great time to accomplish outstanding tasks after the kids go to bed, it is also necessary for children to get enough sleep so they function as normal creatures during the day.
You Can Help Children Be Healthy
Helping children take care of their bodies is a parent's job. It starts with teaching them about the importance of eating right and getting enough sleep. Throw on the need for daily physical activity and the recipe is healthy habits to help kids be healthy adults. Be there for your kids by giving them the tools they need to eat healthy, sleep enough and be active.