Holiday time for kids can be quite challenging for parents especially moms .
There are demands for variety in meals, variety in activities , more tv time , etc.
When do we teach our kids to have a healthy lifestyle?
it is not after they grow up to their twenties, but it is NOW. Small things can be reinforced so that they grow up in that habit to be healthy and conscious to be fit. This is to be done specially for kids 10 plus as this is the formative years to develop good eating habits, exercise habits, sleeping habits which plays a huge precious role when they grow up .
What changes can we start with?
1. It is not that holidays means sleeping late and waking up late . It is a vicious cycle and this itself is the start of an unhealthy lifestyle. Have an understanding with the grown up child instead of forcing on the kid. Forcing gives resistance and lots of mental tension on both the sides. Talk to the child on the importance of lifestyle. To start with , tell the child to follow this few days in a week. if there are sports camps, put the child for a morning yoga class/sports which is fun too or u join the child for a morning stroll/cycling/cricket, etc and spend quality time. In this way you are showing an example too.
Children(10 +) require about 9 to 9 1/2 hrs of sleep for GOOD HEALTH. Younger than 9 yrs require atleast 11 hrs of sleep. More hrs of sleep makes the child dull and lethargic as the "tamasic" state takes charge.this on the long run causes some health issues too . Less amt of sleep makes the child cranky , hungry, fatigued, irritable affecting their focus, awareness,, interaction skills as well as cognitive skills.
The mantra is -sleep early by 9.30 pm/10 pm and wake up by 7 am/7.30 am(for tweens and teens) Is it too much to ask for as you yourself feel that it is not fair for the child then it is time to review your lifestyle:)
2. A healthy child has a great active metabolism rate. They get hungry every two hrs and start raiding the kitchen. If so then be happy as this shows good health as well as credit to you that you are providing "good" nourishing foods.
I have seen parents giving one full packet of biscuit and the child just keeps munching and then they complain that the child is not eating veggies and so on.
So what do we do ...do moms need to be always be in kitchen...not at all. PLAN some interesting snacks which can be bought from trust worthy healthy online shops, from sources who prepare homemade healthy stuff , delegate to your cook , preparing yourself if you LOVE to cook. Keep these things in stock. Again involve your child to select from shop/ select the recipe/ give a list of favourite healthy snacks . Buy some biscuits too so that they do not feel this is a punishment for them :) but rather interesting to get varieties.
Healthy and nourishing snack ideas would be :
1. Homemade popcorn ( not the ACT type which already has preservatives, oil added). Dried corn is available to prepare fresh at home with home oil.
2. Laddoos. Galores of recipes
3 muffins/ granola bars/ cookies- fresh either from healthy entrepreneurs or home made
4. Roasted nuts, chikki
5. murmura mixture
6. interesting home made dips with toasted bread/ cucumber sticks etc
7. soups
8. sandwiches- again galores of recipes..
These are some ideas which are coming in my thoughts right now:). I am sure you will get more ideas once you start the process of healthy family eating. These are snack ideas and not "main course".
By starting with healthy eating, exercise and sleeping habits , you will see a remarkable change in their stamina, strength(inner and outer too), balanced hormones(crucial at this age ), thinking skills and this when continued will result in healthier adults with healthy habits.
ALL these changes can happen only if you are convinced and you too take the step forward for a healthier lifestyle.
If "can't", "not at all possible", "let them be free", "why punish the child with these hard core habits" "let them grow big and then start", "later , not now" " my child will not agree, so leave it off", "why is it anyway important now" , etc
are there in your thoughts then introspect and see the change in YOU before you start changing others.
by, Prabha Krishna