Healthy Examples You Can Set For Children

Parents of young children will know how important it is to set good examples and for children to have a positive role model in their lives. Most children from when they’re toddlers, all the way to their adolescent days are at an age where they are incredibly impressionable and follow the examples set by those they look up to or by those from whom they seek inspiration.

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As a parent or a guardian of a child, setting good examples is important for the developmental process. Teaching them the difference between wrong and right is the first step, but showing them examples of good behaviour and a healthy lifestyle is just as important.

Here are the best health and lifestyle examples you can set for children.

1. Creating good, not bad habits

Habit is the keyword when setting good and healthy examples for children. When you’re able to create a habit for your child and yourself, this means that your child will continue to follow healthier habits, long after they are independent.

Setting examples for any of the below points will help to encourage your child to be better, healthier and wiser. It also makes it easier for your child to be healthy and enjoy it in the long term. The same goes for bad habits. If you lead by poor example, they will turn them into their habits and will become difficult to correct in the future.

2. Diet and nutrition

In recent years, the UAE has followed the rest of the world in regards to instilling better health and lifestyle into their culture. The importance of healthier food options and restaurants has risen.

If you’re prioritizing healthier nutrition options, cutting out the junk, and improving your diet, your child will follow. If they see you eating your veggies, eating in moderation and cutting out the excess junk foods, it will be easier for your child to adopt a healthier diet.

3. Oral care

Whether in the morning, after a meal, or before bedtime, make it a habit to brush your teeth together with your child, especially if they’re below the age of 10. This helps to set a healthy example for them, as well as helping you monitor that they brush their teeth correctly.

Creating a routine around oral care will mean that neither you nor your child will ever miss a day or night of brushing and rinsing your teeth, thus creating a healthy long-term habit.

4. Being physically active

Encouraging your child to become more physically active is one of the most important examples you can set for them. Fortunately, the UAE is brimming with parks, sports facilities, and physical activity programs for both children and adult.

Whether it’s going for a walk, gardening together or playing a sport, this is an opportunity for both you and your child to get active together while strengthening your parent-child bond.

If your child sees that you are making an effort to get fitter with them, it will encourage them to become more active while enjoying the time spent together in the process.

5. Socialization skills

While certain children are more social than others, growing up in this current age, they may feel social and societal pressures around them. In the current social media culture, our children need to be expressive of how they feel, as well as learning to accept others and themselves.

Teaching them social skills and leading by example, can help them be more expressive, and decreases the likeliness of them developing depression or anxiety disorders.

6. Responsibility and accountability

In terms of teaching them responsibility and accountability, are best taught through example. Responsibility and accountability are best taught by example.

Teaching your child to complete what they started, following through on important tasks and routines and admitting their mistakes are crucial towards their long term development and health, even if that means that you will need to recognize when you’ve made a mistake and delegate tasks they need to be able to complete.

This will help foster a sense of responsibility, accountability, maturity, and discipline.

7. Prioritization

Prioritization skills are an important skill that even a majority of adults still haven’t fully mastered. And although no one can ever really become a master at prioritization, children can benefit from learning to prioritize well based on the example you set for them.

This means you may also need to prioritize your daily life activities better. For children, this includes eating, studying, showering before playing video games or watching tv.

Keep in Mind

All children are different. This means that what one child may find an easy example to follow; it may be harder for other children to do so. So no matter what you’re trying to teach your child, always be sure to approach it patiently and with an open mind.

Children with issues or learning disabilities may need extra attention, care, and an altered approach. If none of the above points works for your child, their teacher or medical practitioner may be able to give you better advice on raising your child the best and healthiest way possible.

Head over to the Okadoc app to immediately book an appointment with your health practitioner.