How to Teach Your Child Good Health Habits

If you want your child to have good health habits, you need to set a good example. You can't expect her to snack on fruits if you're scarfing down candy and cookies. Your advice will carry a lot more weight if she can see you putting it into practice and reaping the benefits. Instilling healthy habits in your child at a young age will set her on the right path for the rest of her life.

Things You'll Need

  • Soap
  • Clean towel
  • Potato chips
  • Candy
  • Apple slices
  • Peanut butter
  • Flowers
  • 2 vases
  • Reusable water bottle

Instructions

    • 1

      Teach your child how to wash his hands. Explain that this is an important healthy habit because hand-washing will help keep nasty germs away and reduce the number of colds and infections he gets. Tell him he needs to wash his hands before every meal and after coming in from outdoors, sneezing, coughing, touching an animal or using the toilet. Demonstrate good hand-washing habits. Use warm water and soap and rub your hands together to make lots of suds. Continue this for at least 20 seconds, recommends Heidi Murkoff, author of the bestselling pregnancy book "What To Expect When You're Expecting." Pay attention to all parts of the hands: the front, the back and between the fingers. Finish off by rinsing your hands thoroughly and drying them with a clean towel.

    • 2

      Prepare healthy meals for your child. Cook as many meals from scratch as possible. Involve your child in the preparation and cooking process and explain why certain foods are good for her. A good way to teach your child the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods is to build "houses" out of food, suggests Kathleen M. Reilly in the article "instilling Healthy Habits" for "Parents" magazine. Create a house made with unhealthy snacks, such as potato chips and chocolate cookies. Build another house next to it from slices of apple and small pieces of candy. Tell your child the story of "The Three Little Pigs" and invite him to huff and puff and blow the houses down, just like the wolf in the story does. Point out that the chips and cookies house fell down easily, while the apple and peanut butter house remained stable for longer. Tell your child this is because healthy foods are stronger, and eating healthy foods will make him stronger, too.

    • 3

      Encourage your child to drink lots of water. Ask her to help you place some flowers in a vase of water. Remove one of the flowers and place it in a second vase with no water. The following day, take your child to look at the flowers. Compare the flower that has had no water to the ones that have. Explain that the flowers in water are still bright, full and healthy because the water is keeping them alive. Tell your child that water is necessary to keep her body working, too. Buy a reusable water bottle for your child and keep it filled and within reach when she is at home. Whenever she's thirsty, she'll reach for it.

    • 4

      Arrange family activities to show exercise can be fun. Go for bike rides together or take a day trip to the local swimming pool. Chase and play hide-and-seek with younger children in the yard. Encourage your child to try out for school sports teams and participate in after-school sports clubs. Limit the time your child spends on video games and computers. If you set rules and stick to them, he'll know what you expect of him. If active pursuits are a priority during his childhood, he'll be more likely to favor them when he's older.

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