Health Family
Healthy together, happy together
Even if you’re a busy working parent, making a few small lifestyle changes could reap big health rewards for you, your partner and your children
Family life is so different these days compared with when most of us were young. Many parents are now so busy, they’re not able to spend as much time with their families as they’d like. One survey, carried out for the British Heart Foundation, even suggests more than a quarter of parents are too busy in an average day to spend any time at all with their children. Finding the time to boost each member of your family’s health may
sound like an impossible task. But making just a few simple lifestyle changes could go a long way to improving your family’s wellbeing. According to the NHS, any changes to a child’s diet and lifestyle are
also much more likely to be accepted if they involve the whole family. So here are some ideas to help you become healthier together…
Organise regular activity times Even when you’re all busy doing your own thing, try to find times when everyone can get together to get active. Aim to find just two 30-minute periods during the week when you can all walk the dog, go to the local park or do some house or garden chores together. Then try to plan an hour of family time on each day of the weekend for something energetic and fun, such as family games night or home disco.
Eat at the table as a family According to the NHS, studies show families who have regular meals together with no distractions – such as computers, smartphones or TVs – are more likely to be a healthy weight. Even if you can’t all be together to eat every night, try to make sure you sit around the table as a family as often you can.
Shop and prepare meals together Get the whole family involved in planning meals and shopping for ingredients, as it can make everyone more aware of healthy eating. Teach the kids how to read food labels, so they become familiar with things like checking how much salt or sugar they’re eating. It’s also a good idea to cook together too, as children who learn to cook at an early age may be less reliant on ready meals and takeaways when they’re older.
Live by example
Children are far more likely to adopt healthy behaviours if their parents have healthy lifestyles too. So, for instance, if you’re a smoker and you want to discourage your child from picking up the habit, the best thing you can do for them – as well as yourself – is to quit. Similarly, if your diet is far from ideal,
chances are your child will refuse to eat healthy food. Or if you spend every night watching TV from the comfort of your sofa, it’s highly likely the other members of your family will avoid opportunities for being active. Giving your family a good example to follow, however, can make all the difference. If you’re considering giving up smoking, ask
your local Careway pharmacist about the help and support they can offer. Your pharmacist can also give you lots of tips on other aspects of healthy living – find your nearest Careway pharmacy at
www.careway.co.uk/find-a-pharmacist.
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