Top ten tips for parenting happy, healthy children

We all want healthy, happy and active children. Here my top ten tips to help you achieve this.

10. Eat dinner together. No screens, no technology. Sit down at the table and talk about your days. The good things, the bad things, the funny things. Not just talk. Listen to what your kids are saying. Listen to what I bothering them. To you it might seem trivial. To them it is like their world is ending.

9. Serve dinner on platters so the kids can choose what they want to eat and the amount. You might be surprised at what they choose. Remember though, they can only choose from what’s put on the table so make sure they’re good choices.

8. Kids need carbs. But not all the time and not as snacks. Replace the chips, lollies and chocolate with vegie sticks, dips, crackers, yoghurt, fruit. Sure you may get some resistance to start with, but if you sit down with them and eat it too…

7. Plan your meals and get the kids involved as well. There are four of us in my family and we take it in turns to plan a week’s dinners at a time. This way the kids get to choose meals they like. They also get to sample new things when the adults choose the menu. The best thing is you also plan your shopping so you always know you have the ingredients AND you save money because you only buy what you need.

6. Play. That’s it. Play with your kids. Take them outside for a game- backyard cricket, four square, hopscotch. Go for a walk to a playground, ride a bike, play chasey. It doesn’t matter. Just play.

5. Go out on weekends. Find a new park, go to the beach, the forest. Find a new café and look at the menu. You don’t have to spend money on trampoline factories, or theme parks. There are plenty of no or low cost activities that are lots of fun.

4. Go to a farmers market once a week or once a month. Get the kids to choose a fruit or vegetable they’ve never had before. Take it home and try it – all of you try it. If you experiment with food, so will the kids.

3. Turn off and unplug. All of you. Turn the internet off at night. Have technology free days on the weekend.

2. Walk the talk. If you talk about diets and being overweight, then your kids will talk about that too. It is devastating hearing a 10 year old girl saying they are fat and need to go on a diet. Talk about eating healthy and WHY. Your kids will love hearing that you’re eating healthy food and exercising so you can play with them.

1 . Be a role model. With kids it really is a case of monkey see, monkey do. Look at the recent TAC ads where the kids are watching their parent drive. Kids also watch what we eat and drink and how we exercise. If you want active healthy kids. Start with yourself.