While there are some illnesses and ailments in life that are unavoidable, many can be prevented by making an effort to live a healthy lifestyle. It’s much easier to start living a healthy lifestyle at a young age, rather than trying to make up for lost time, so follow these tips for keeping your children healthy during the spring and summer to keep them on the right track.
Involve the Whole Family
If you’re concerned with keeping your children healthy, then you need to lead by example. Make an effort to plan and partake in physical activities as a family because, as important as physical activity is, it’s still second to the childhood development linked to spending quality time together as a family. It doesn’t have to be expensive or extravagant, something as simple as scheduling a few nights a week for a family hike or bike ride is a great start.
Limit Screen Time
It can be difficult to limit the amount of exposure your children have to screens these days because, let’s face it, they’re everywhere, but it doesn’t have to feel like a punishment. Next time your child asks for a new video game or the latest gadget, suggest some other options like water guns or rollerblades that will get them excited about getting outside and getting active.
Encourage Healthy Eating
Exercise and fresh air are two key components of keeping your children healthy, but a healthy diet is the final piece of the puzzle. Although at times, you may need to be firm to get them to finish their vegetables, try not to turn healthy eating into a fight and make it fun. Find out what fruits and vegetables they actually enjoy and start there, and over time their palates will expand.
Make Exercise Fun
If you’re expecting your children to run laps and do cardio, odds are you aren’t going to win that battle because, for most children, those forms of exercise are boring. Enrolling your children in organized sports is a big step in the right direction when it comes to keeping them healthy, but obviously due to current health and safety protocols organized youth sports are not accessible for all at this time. If sports leagues are not an option in your community right now, we suggest simply getting your children outdoors to practice their favourite sports. That way, once sports leagues are reopened, they will be ready to show off their newly mastered skills to their friends and teammates.
Encourage Their Interests
Try to encourage any interests your children have that promote a healthy lifestyle. If they tell you they don’t like soccer, but they do like skateboarding or hockey, then embrace the interests they do have. They are much more likely to willingly spend time doing a physical activity if it’s something they’re interested in, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
Diet and exercise are essential parts of keeping your children healthy, but for all of life’s unexpected ailments,
count on Critical Illness Insurance from Hudson’s Bay Financial.
Critical Illness Insurance is offered by Hudson’s Bay Financial Services and is underwritten by Chubb Life Insurance Company of Canada (“Chubb Life”). This information is for general information purposes only. Actual coverage is determined by the facts and circumstances of the particular loss and the terms and conditions of the policy as issued.
Chubb Life is part of the Chubb Group of companies. With operations in 54 countries, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. Chubb Limited, the parent company of Chubb, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index.