Fix Your Goals, Get Set, Go!

Gift your Children the Goodness of Healthy Life

The best thing you can gift your children is a golden set of healthy habits which stay with them forever. In case of involving your family in physical activities or having dinner together, make use of these four simple steps to help your family imbibe healthy practices to last a lifetime.

Simple Beginnings Lead to Great Endings

1. Have a Give and Take Policy
   Get down to work as a single unit together and brainstorm the changes you wish to carry out. Registered nutritionists suggest that kids are happy to follow health habits if their opinions and proposals are given enough value. Choose one or two goals which everyone is happy with and turn them into S.M.A.R.T goals.
2. Make S.M.A.R.T. Goals
   Make every goal of yours crystal clear so that there is no confusion about what you’re working towards and when you’ve achieved it. A S.M.A.R.T. goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-framed. Instead of saying “Everyone eats their morning breakfast”, when you say, “The whole family will eat a healthy breakfast Monday through Friday either in the dining area or on their way to workplace/school”, it becomes a S.M.A.R.T goal.
3. Simply Don’t Talk Smart, but Act Smart
   World renowned dietetic associations conducted a study in 2011 and have concluded that children aged between 8 and 17 years consider their mother as their primary role model and their father as the secondary role model. The same study also found more than 70 percent of the children commented that healthy and nutritious food choices by parents encouraged them to follow the same. RDNs feel that training children from their young age inspires them to lead a healthy life in their adulthood.
4. Look Forward to Challenges
   Goals are achievable, but not so easily. Prepare yourself to face the challenges boldly. Dietitians have observed that shortage of time remains the biggest barrier to adopt oneself to healthy eating habits. Simple changes and commitments, such as substituting 10 minutes of TV time for cooking together as a family or waking up some 15 minutes earlier the next morning to have breakfast together, can ensure positive results. You can even check out the link www.firsteatright.com for healthy breakfast tips for the whole family. Take one step at a time. Shop for your weekly groceries in advance, make a batch of your favorite dishes that can be simply reheated later or work out on other different strategies that would work to your advantage. Don’t expect perfection the first time you try out something — ensure that you enjoy the process and feel rewarded for the hard work done.

Healthy goals are beneficial to the body along with plenty other advantages. Cooking teaches kids math skills, getting up early for a healthy breakfast helps in time management and spending time together as a family helps to understand each other and creates a stronger bond between family members.