This past weekend was World Health Day, so in honor of that we took some time out of our regular homeschool day schedule to focus on kids health. Part of our activities included watching the film, “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”. To simply say the movie was good would be the understatement of the year! It held my children’s attention to the end and even brought tears to my eyes by the end. It was humorous and light-hearted enough to captivate the kids while being thought-provoking and incredibly informative. I strongly recommend this documentary if you haven’t yet seen it.
For several years now I have focused a good deal on keeping my children healthy, but as they are growing older, I want them to adopt a healthy lifestyle philosophy for themselves, rather than just doing things because “mom says so”. I was pleased to find that the kids all requested salad for lunch after watching “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”! Through this film I was able to help my children realize just how blessed they are to be taught about nutrition and fitness at such an early age rather than getting to the point where you have no choice but to change – when the only other option is death!
For those of you just starting out your health journey, NOW is the time to get your kids on board too! Don’t put it off till you feel you’re closer to reaching your own goals – make your kid’s health a part of the journey! Here’s some tips to get going:
- Include your kids in your meal planning. By letting them make some of the choices, they will be more likely to eat what is on the menu. Even include them in some of the food prep and cooking as well.
- Try a new fruit or vegetable each week. Get your kids on board with researching the health benefits of the selected new food.
- Invite your kids to join in with your daily workouts. Several of my kids workout with me daily now and run regularly with me in 5K Runs. We have a blast every morning with our workouts! If you have younger children, consider investing in some kid-focused workout DVDs such as Tony and the Kids or Shaun T’s Fit Kids Club. They’re a lot of fun and you can even work up a pretty good sweat burning some calories yourself!
- Allow for some flexibility. If you suddenly tell your kids they can never have their favorite cookie or ice cream again, it probably won’t be received well! Plan for a weekly treat, even if it’s a healthier version of an old favorite. And then don’t fall apart or berate them if they end up eating something they shouldn’t. Explain to them why certain foods are bad for them and encourage them to make better choices in the future, but avoid making them feel like they have failed you!
- Get your kids outdoors. Start setting time limits on TV and video games and get your kids playing outside. This one change alone can make a tremendous difference in your child’s overall health, physically, emotionally, and mentally!
- Certain foods should just flat out be off limits – always! Not trying to be harsh here, but saying a little won’t hurt them once in awhile is not too much different than saying a little rat poison won’t’ hurt them as long as it’s not all the time! In our house, sodas, Kool Aid, processed foods like chips, and most candies are banned. Certain chemicals highly affect my ADHD child and I know they are terrible for my other children as well. They rarely complain as this has always been the rule, but I know in homes where these are regular staples, it can take some time to wean your kids off of them. Try eliminating one food at a time and work to show your kids why these things are bad for them.
- Watch some health documentaries together as a family such as “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”. Some others on our list to watch soon are “Hungry For Change”, “Food Matters”, “Forks Over Knives”, and “Vegucated”. We found all of these on Netflix, by the way!
You love your kids and want the best for them. Start now teaching them health habits that they can carry on as a legacy of love!
These are great tips! Those videos are really eye openers!
Yes, very eye opening! I just learned too that a sequel to “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” is currently being filmed. Looking forward to seeing that!
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