A Healthy Lifestyle
There is no short-term solution to achieving a healthy body weight, which is really a long-term pursuit. It requires a complete overhaul in lifestyle, including dietary and activity modifications. There are many wrong ways of doing things, and that's why it's particularly important to follow the advice of physicians and dieticians in guiding your child to the healthy goal.
Let's Get Moving
Today's children lead an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, just like their adult counterparts. To reverse this trend, it is paramount to first eliminate the indoor pastimes that suck up most of their time. Limiting television time goes a long way to this end. Pediatricians recommend that children watch no more than one hour of television a day. Parents can allow the child to select one or two programs that they want to watch, but they must stick to that schedule. When the program is over, the television goes off.
While video games are not intrinsically bad, it is important to limit the amount of time children spend playing them. Even with some of the more interactive titles, where children dance around on an electronic sensor pad on the floor, activity level is severely restricted. Time spent interacting with the video screen could be better spent engaging in outdoor activities.
Alert!
Pediatricians recommend against using the television as a babysitter. It is enticing and extremely convenient, but it sets a bad precedent for the child to sit in front of the tube for extended periods of time. Furthermore, do not leave the television on during mealtimes. It encourages indiscriminate watching.
It's a Family Affair
By eating together healthily, the members of a family send and support the strong message that being healthy is a universal responsibility.
Families should have predictable mealtimes, when everyone sits down and has a healthy meal together. Eating a meal together at least once a day is extremely important to establish a healthy eating pattern for children. This ritual alone cuts down the consumption of potentially bad snacks with poor nutritional value. The mealtime should be a pleasant bonding experience, giving everyone a chance to relax and socialize.
Essential
A healthy family menu starts at the shopping stage. If you don't buy unhealthy snacks and soft drinks, you effectively remove the temptation to consume them. All members of the family must adhere to a strict shopping guideline. It does not work if the parent is a responsible shopper but the grandparents go out and buy junk foods.
In addition, families should schedule regular physical activities. Instead of sitting together on the living room couch and watching television, the entire family can go out for a walk or ride bikes together after dinner. It is much more difficult to exercise alone than to do it in the company of the people you love. Everyone can benefit from the extra physical exercise, regardless of health status. Remember, exercise doesn't have to be an unrelenting “death march.” Make it into a game and incorporate fun elements into the activities.
Setting Realistic Goals
Even with the strategies mentioned above, it is always important to set realistic goals when it comes to lifestyle changes. Planning to go from a couch potato to running a marathon in less than four months is simply a setup for failure. Likewise, planning to switch from an unhealthy diet to a diet consisting of carrot sticks is equally impractical. The road to success is all about taking small steps and making the trek patiently. Old habits die hard. You can't expect to become healthy overnight.
Fact
It is usually wise to change one thing at a time when it comes to food selection changes. The best idea is to cut out the worst offenders and then work your way down the list one by one. Soft drinks should go first, followed by other food items, such as crunchy snacks.
Before signing your child up for the soccer team, it's a good idea to improve her physical conditioning and stamina. It would be unfair to make her struggle on a team full of children who have been accustomed to running hours at a stretch. Start by taking an after-dinner stroll with your child, and gradually work it up to a brisk walk. Running a long distance (more than two miles) should be a distant goal, especially if you and your child are not used to running. It takes time and patience to see the result of regular exercise, but it's well worth the effort.
