Many adults realize the error of their ways later in life, and set out to establish healthy patterns of living, seeking to overcome poor lifestyle habits that they have often had for many years. It's great when an individual comes to terms with this and pursues wellness despite their unhealthy past. However, let's think about another scenario. Imagine being raised in a home where health, wellness, and a preventative lifestyle is the norm. What a blessing this would be, providing knowledge and benefits that could spill over into many future generations. Parents, whether we need to make a U-turn ourselves or if we are fortunate enough to not have the burden of overcoming unhealthy patterns, what a privilege and responsibility we have to our children.In a world that bombards children (and adults) with an onslaught of messages that try to pressure us into eating poorly, overeating, depending on prescription drugs, and other toxic choices, the most powerful way to overcome this propaganda is found in the home by parents who model healthy alternatives. At times, turning the tide of the unhealthy lifestyle that pervades America can seem like an impossible, overwhelming task. The only way it can be accomplished is by taking personal responsibility for our own health (leading by example), and by passing these values on to our children and teaching them how to stay fit and prevent disease.
What Healthy Habits are Most Important for Children to Learn?
A lifestyle of wellness involves many choices, but there are a few basics that will help your kids get and stay on the right track. Suggestions include:
- Food: Choosing organic, whole foods that are raw or minimally prepared is a foundational habit for present and future health. Start your children from birth (breast feeding), if possible, on a diet heavy on fruits and vegetables and whole-grain foods that will give them maximum nutrition and disease-fighting nutrients. If they are never exposed to junk foods, high-fat foods, excessive amounts of salt and sugar, and a regular supply of meat and other animal fats, they will not develop a taste for these, but will rather find them distasteful.
- Natural Gardening: Studies indicate that children who spent 12 weeks cultivating their own school garden ended up doubling their intake of fruit and vegetables. Teach your children "how" to provide healthy food for their future family and you will give them a tool that can be used forever. Children love to play in the dirt and watch things grow, especially very young children. They also love things that are their very own, personalizing a part of the garden with a homemade sign such as "Kara's Garden," or "Trey's Plot" will help to keep them interested and focused on caring for their plants. Teach them early on how to plant seeds, pull weeds, water and yes, even enjoy a juicy sample of the harvest. Incorporating knowledge about herbs and their many medicinal uses is priceless information! Don't forget to teach the importance of using non-toxic fertilizers and organic herbicide methods. Promoting gardening to children is potentially not just good nutrition-wise but also gives them a chance to become physically active and may, say scientists from the department of horticultural sciences at Texas A&M University, simply make them feel more positive.
- Pure Water: Forming a taste for pure, filtered water is also critical. Alongside the media blitz pushing unhealthy foods, the pressure to drink soda pop, energy drinks, coffee, and other unwise beverages is enormous in our culture. Teach your children from a young age that our bodies need an ample supply of water every day to keep us hydrated, allow all of our systems and organs to function well, boost our immune system, and flush out toxins, among other benefits. The only beverage that our body really needs is pure water.
- Exercise: Again, regular physical activity is significantly one of the key lifestyle choices that contributes to your overall health. Lead by example, training your kids from infancy on up to embrace an active lifestyle. Include a variety of stretching, aerobic exercise, and weight-bearing activities. As they get older, encourage them to find activities that interest them so that they will consistently engage in them, developing a habit of regular physical exercise.
- Stress Elimination: Yes, children get stressed. Teaching your children methods of stress relief is important and will prove to be a valuable gift as they get older. Walking in the sunshine every day, reading up-lifting books, taking a short nap, listening to good music, Pilates, and taking time to just be quiet are all very effective stress relievers.
- Avoiding Prescription Drugs: We must teach our children that unless absolutely necessary, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications should be shunned due to many serious and hazardous side-effects. Even more importantly, it is crucial to communicate that wellness does not lie in a pill or potion that only covers up symptoms, often exposing us to even greater health risks. True health and disease prevention is found naturally from where foods and other substances found in nature, as well as from other quality lifestyle choices. Break the chains of Big Pharma on the next generation by educating your kids to the false advertising of drug-makers and to the benefits of natural healing and prevention.
- Green Living: It's very important for our children to know about toxic water, toxic air, toxic food and toxic emotions. Teaching them the importance of making a home "non-toxic" is also very important. They should understand importance of quality air purification and water filtration. Helping them understand about effective energy use is also needed -- turning off lights, not standing with the fridge door open, turning off water when brushing teeth, etc. In short, whatever one is doing to make their home clean and non-toxic, their children will benefit from this knowledge also.
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