10 Good Habits - That Parents Must Teach Their Children

 10 GOOD HABITS - THAT PARENTS 

MUST TEACH THEIR CHILDREN

Children look up to their parents through their lives. Parents are always a point of reference for their children, someone they turn to for guidance whenever they run into trouble, and children pick up this habit early on in their lives. As they grow, children imitate their parents' behavior  and actions, and parents are the role models for their kids. Their wisdom and habits inevitably pass onto kids. Thus, it is important to teach the children to differentiate between good and bad habits, and choose the good ones.

HEALTHY HABITS FOR CHILDREN

Inculcating the right manners and healthy habits for children can feel like an uphill battle. But you must be patient and lead them towards the right path. The points described below can be considered healthy habits which kids must have:

1. BRUSHING TWICE A DAY

Dental hygiene is very important. Teach your kids how to brush and make your kids realize the importance of brushing the teeth twice a day right from their childhood. Kids tend to eat a lot, and hence they should have their teeth clean to prevent cavities. Also, teach them not to eat food after brushing their teeth at night.

2. BATHING EVERY DAY

Teach them the hygienic importance of bathing and being neat and clean all the time. You can encourage this habits by using attractive bathroom tubs, soaps, shampoos and handy toys. Also, bathing twice a day should be instilled in the kids since their childhood to avoid entry of germs into their body.

3. EAT BREAKFAST

Instilling a routine of regular mealtimes in childhood can help make it more likely that your kids will continue this good habit when they're older. Teach them they are eating a healthy breakfast. It kicks starts their brain and energy, it helps keep them strong and also it keeps chronic diseases at bay.

Get you kids into a routine of breakfast-lunch-dinner to help them avoid unnecessary snacks right from the beginning.  Try making nutritious breakfasts by incorporating varieties of fruits and vegetables that helps your kid stay energetic and active for the whole day.

4. HANDWASH

Handwashing is an easy, cheap and effective way to prevent the spread of germs and keep kids and adults healthy.

Teaching hands is a significant milestone in implementing healthy habits into a child's lifestyle. Therefore, teach your kids to wash hands after using the washroom, before eating food, after they come home from playing outdoor, to prevent infections. Teach them to wash their hands with soap or liquid hand wash for at least 20 seconds.

5. DRINK WATER

Drinking water improves memory and attention, helps children maintain a healthy weight, reduces the risk for some chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and helps prevent dental cavities, if fluoridated. Tap water is much less expensive than sports drinks, sodas and juice.

A child's body needs water to be healthy and active. Many communities have tap water with flouride. Giving children water with fluoride is one of the best ways to keep their teeth healthy. When children drink water with fluoride throughout the day, their teeth are bathed in low levels of fluoride, which helps to keep teeth strong.

Tips For Encouraging Your Child to Drink Water

• make drinking water fun for your child. Use bendy, silly or colored straws
• use water bottles that can be carried anywhere and refill them with tap water
• add a lemon, lime or orange slice to the water or add fruit like blueberries, raspberries or strawberries
• be a good role model for your child. drink water instead of drinks that have sugar, like juice, fruit drinks, soda or sports drinks. Sugar contained in soft drinks add no nutrients instead it adds up the unnecessary calories which may lead to several health problems

6. REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

It is important to provide young people opportunities and encouragement to participate in physical activities that are appropriate for their age, that are enjoyable, and that offer variety. Children and adolescents ages 6 - 17 should do 1 hour or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily. Most of the daily 60 minutes should include activities like walking, running or anything that makes their hearts beat faster. At least 3 days a week should include vigorous-intensity activities. Kids who watch television for more than 2 hours may develop several health problems like obesity, irregular sleep and attention disorders. So, encourage your kid to find happiness in outdoor games or ask them to perform any household activities like washing toys or gardening. 

7. READ EVERYDAY

Reading 20 minutes a day exposes kids to a vast quantity of words. And this exposure makes children more likely to score in the 90th percentile on standardized tests. Reading / Story time is important for brain development, even for babies who do not talk yet. When you read with children, they are connecting the words your way to the pictures on the page and to the things in their world. All of those connections are brain connections!

Make reading several times a day part of your routine. Daily reading time creates the consistency and sense of stability that children need. Reading the same books over and over also allows children to predict elements of the story and learn through repetition.

Reading is not the only way to use books to engage with children. Use the pictures in a book to tell your own story. or Encourage children to be the storyteller!

Reading is a great time to interact with children. As you read together, make funny sounds or sing songs that go along with the story. During home visits, encourage parents to do the same.

Reading to babies and young children in "parentese" makes it easier for them to learn a variety of new words. "Parentese" is linked to greater language growth in later childhood.

This is the age where your child develops different skills including reading. Help your child read and reading out to them helps develop strong listening and reading skills to succeed at school and work in the later stages of life. Teach them all the stories they feel excited about and make reading a part of your child's playtime and bedtime routines.

8. FAMILY TIME

Family time is extremely important for a child. Make sure you have lunch or dinner together with your kid daily. This helps in better communication as they enjoy time with you and connect with them better. It also makes them feel important and loved.

9. SPEND TIME WITH FRIENDS

Friends are very important to the healthy development of a child. Playing with good friends teaches your kids valuable social skills such as communication, cooperation and problem solving and also indirectly affects their performance at school. Encourage your kids to develop a good friendship and to play with such friends very often. This skill will set them up with life as they draw on for years to come.

10. STAY POSITIVE

Kids at this age get easily discouraged when things don't happen in their way. Teach them the importance of staying positive with healthy self-esteem and a positive mindset by telling them that they are lovable and unique. This skill helps them a lot in their life no matter what challenges they encounter.

It is not always easy to encourage your child to grow to follow healthy habits. but do not give up as it is your responsibility! Try hard to make them learn because following these tips may help your kid follow a healthy lifestyle right from the childhood.