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February, 2022

easy ways to keep your child active and healthy
Did you know that only 44.9% of children and young people are taking part in physical activities or sports for the recommended 60 minutes a day? More than 30% of children and young people are getting less than 30 minutes of exercise a day. Here are some of our best tips to get the whole family more active and having fun at the same time!

DANCE PARTIES

Turn the music up and let loose as a family! Shake off the stresses of your day and dance like no one is watching. Your children will absolutely love having dance parties in the living room with their loved ones. For an extra laugh, stick a dance tutorial up on the tv and try your hardest to copy. Not only will it give the children their daily exercise and get their heart rates up, it is a lovely memory that they will remember and cherish for years to come.

british family bonding

TRIPS TO THE PARK

nanny-and-child
Every single child loves a trip to the park. The best part of all, it’s free! They can run around with their new found park friends, climb the equipment and try to touch the clouds as they swing as high as they can on the swings. Just an hour’s trip to the park can make all the difference to your child’s health and overall mood. Most places also have a park nearby, typically within walking distance! They will tire themselves out with all the fun; which makes for a much easier bedtime for us.

WALK TO SCHOOL

If you live close enough to your children’s school, take the walk. You will all feel so much better for not driving a short distance. If your school provides bike shelters, your children can also ride and scooter to school, getting in some daily exercise before learning can help them focus and feel much more awake in class! If you live a distance away, try parking a few streets away and walking the rest of the journey.
Governess and little girl

PROVIDE ACTIVE TOYS

siblings

Children need access to active toys that get them moving about. For example, toys like footballs and skipping ropes are a good way to get some fun exercise in! Another good tip is to get some chalk and create your own hopscotch on the path outside your house. Disguising exercise as fun playtime will encourage kids to take part.

SET LIMITS

Limit their screen time. This includes tv time and video games. It is so easy for everyone to sit around and do nothing. With limited screen time and nothing else to do, it may encourage them to run around in the garden for a while instead.
Online Tutor

PLAN FUN ACTIVITIES

children playing in water
Switch it up when you can. Plan something different and fun for the family to participate in. Take them swimming in the local swimming baths, book a horseback riding trail, or even go ice skating at your nearest skate centre! For something free, you could go on a nice hike and take a yummy picnic. Always make sure it’s an age appropriate trip, as a two year old is not going to hike for six hours.

HEALTHY EATING

healthy eating

Going hand in hand with being fit and healthy, is of course healthy eating! Making sure you’re eating three meals a day and consuming lots of water is always important.

Did you know that children who eat junk food on a regular basis suffer in poor academic performances? This is due to sugary foods, which lead to sugar crashes and poor concentration. Children struggle to remain focused on tasks that require full attention. It also leaves them with little to no energy as they don’t intake the correct nutrients for physical activity. This can lead to problems later on in life, such as obesity and mental health concerns.

Fruit & Veg

It is recommended you eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. This can be fresh, frozen, canned, dried or even juiced. Some easy ways to encourage healthy eating in young children is to have them help prep the food, whether it’s tossing some fruit into a blender and making a smoothie together or helping add the carrots to the pan. These little tasks make children feel grown up and proud, making them excited to try the food they created.

Fish

 

 

Fish are filled with lots of health benefits including omega-3, vitamins D and B2. The NHS recommends consuming fish at least twice a week; including at least one oily fish. Oily fish can prevent many health conditions such as heart disease. But do your research as some fish should be consumed less frequently than others.

Water

 

 

Try to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated. During summer, drink plenty more to stay cool. Avoid sugary drinks as much as possible. These drinks are bad for your teeth, full of high and empty calories, and they don’t quench your thirst.

HOW TO ENCOURAGE HEALTHY EATING IN CHILDREN?

Some kids despise the taste or texture of vegetables and fruit; while unhealthy foods are addictive so it can be hard to break the cycle. However, if you get creative with it, it will be the best thing you can do for them. It can take time to find what works for you, but don’t give up, they will enjoy their broccoli eventually!

CREATIVE MEALS

If you have the time, try and create a pretty picture on their dinner plate. For example, using peas as grass, broccoli as trees and cauliflower as clouds. Then, stick a dinosaur nugget in the middle and a mash potato volcano, erupting with ketchup. Younger children may choose to play with their food when seeing this; but allow them to get used to the different textures, they will eat up after a few minutes. There are plenty of ideas on pinterest for cute meal ideas like this!

HIDE THE VEG

Another quick and easy tip is to hide the veg. For example, if you’re having a spag bol, try blending some carrots and tomatoes up into the bolognese sauce. They’ll never know and they will get several of their five servings a day with this tactic. There are some more recipes you can read up on that disguise the healthy food from the children.

We hope this helps you out with how to have a healthy lifestyle! Let us know if you try any of our tips and tricks in our comments or over on our instagram. We’d love to hear from you!

Stuck on some activities to do with your children? Don’t worry we got you! Check out these fun activities below!

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