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Ahh… Healthy habits… another part of parenting where I need LOTS of reminders to be intentional. We’ve taught Emma great habits like brushing her teeth, saying please, and using an ‘inside voice’ when we’re with other people. Lately we’ve been trying to teacher some other, more grown-up habits.
Drinking Water :: Emma and I have been filling our water cups every morning before we head downstairs for our morning school time. We sip through the morning and find that we drink our cups dry by the time 11:00 rolls around. Doing this each day means that we’re both getting 1-2 extra cups of water and probably concentrating better because of it.
Eating Healthy Foods :: Fortunately Emma is not a picky eater, probably because we exposed her to lots of different foods multiple times when she was first eating solid foods. At our house, we have the one-bite rule. Even if something looks gross, you still need to try one bite. As she’s gotten older, Emma has surprised her (and us) by deciding with that one bite that a food passes the test. She’s also very aware of how much sugar she takes in each day. That’s a definite plus! We keep talking about why we eat what we do and why some things are occasional snacks, hoping that it’s all sinking in.
Exercise :: If we’re not intentional about this one, it’s easy to let it slip by. Fortunately I have a P.E. line on our homeschool lesson plans each week. She definitely gets a workout at her weekly dance class, and we try to schedule other activities, even if it’s a quick walk around the neighborhood or playing Wii. During the winter months, we even let her hula hoop in the living room.
Sleep :: We stick to our guns on this one. Emma usually goes to sleep around 8:30 each evening. If we have too many nights of stretching that just a little longer, we end up with a grumpy gal. Plus Jason & I need that little bit of time between her bedtime and ours to get some of our work and unwinding done (and maybe the occasional load of laundry!).
As I typed this list, I thought about how I needed to stick to the healthy habits that we’re trying to teach Emma! Hopefully by being intentional with teaching these healthy habits to her, we’ll keep them a part of our family’s routine too.
What other healthy habits do you try to teach your kids?
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