The school holidays are the perfect opportunity for parents to teach their children valuable lessons about food, exercise and sleep.
Leading obesity and health expert Dr Nick Fuller from the Charles Perkins Centre shares his six tips on getting the whole family healthy these holidays:
"For parents it can often feel like raising children is a tug of war. You want to enjoy your time with them, as conflict-free as possible, yet you know that you cannot succumb to their every demand,” he says. "There are many wonderful things that a parent can do for a child and the most important of all is the gift of true health: your kids will learn the foundations of health by observing your actions.
"There are libraries full of books that scientifically explain the physical, the physiological and the mental impacts of poor health choices versus healthy ones. These choices commence in the womb and continue right throughout adulthood. You, as the parent, have the opportunity to set them on the right path.”
Dr Fuller says this festive period, instead of succumbing to weeks of calorie-rich celebratory food, plentiful drinks and maximum downtime, implement healthy habits for the whole family. It is not about deprivation, but instead setting boundaries around food, exercise and sleep health, to raise children that don’t have a lifelong struggle with health and weight.
Six key principles for making the school holidays healthy:
•Health, not weight: model healthy habits for your family to ensure that your child has a naturally optimum body weight throughout their life.
•Reach for nature first: expose children to fresh foods and avoid the pitfalls of our modern diet.
•The full rainbow: get your child to eat more nutritious foods – not less – with a focus on variety and the key elements they need for healthy development.
•Mealtime, feelin’ fine: get the whole family involved in mealtime and improve their innate appetite regulation by slowing down.
•Play every day: understand your child’s exercise needs at each stage of their development – and how to incorporate movement and a sense of play into your family’s daily lifestyle.
•Screen time showdown: model healthy tech habits, such as knowing when to turn off technology and establishing practical boundaries and positive alternatives that bring the family together.
