How Parents' Reactions Affect Physical Development

Positive Parenting

• It is important to constantly nurture your child's self-esteem in order for him to become confident and independent, helping him to feel strong and capable. He will not be afraid to engage in various physical activities when you are consistently praising his accomplishments, no matter how small. It is vital to use positive words of encouragement and avoid negative statements and words. This also teaches your child to become compassionate. Looking for the good in your children is sometimes challenging because it is easy to catch your child when he may be misbehaving. Constant praise will encourage more positive behavior. Loving words and physical affection go a long way to help develop your child into a confident adult who feels comfortable expressing himself physically.

Eat Healthy

• Children are greatly influenced by what they see and hear. If parents eat junk food all day, there is no reason to believe kids will grab an apple over chips. Some sugary sweets here and there are not going to harm your child, provided the majority of the time they are given the correct amounts of fruits, vegetables, proteins and whole grains. You obviously do not want to cause any kind of an eating disorder, so if your child tends to want to eat large portions and take seconds, do not over emphasize this issue. Try to encourage more physical activity as an offset to the large food portions. Likewise, when your child would rather eat cookies over fruit, try to offer alternative healthy snacks. Consistently praise your child when he does eat his fruits and vegetables as if he is setting a very healthy example for everyone in the family.

Exercise and Set an Example

• When your children see you exercise on a daily basis and view it as important, they will want to mirror your activity level. If you are acting like a couch potato, there is no reason to believe your child will act any differently. Your child may not develop a healthy attitude toward exercise, as well as develop a weight issue. When your son wants to play and exercise, tell him how proud you are that he is moving around. Be sure to encourage playing and exercising instead of sitting in front of the television. Model a positive attitude toward exercise and being outdoors, and your kids will also learn to love exercising and active play. Taking lots of walks, bike rides, ball playing and even racing games can encourage activity.

Try to Keep an Upbeat Attitude Toward Messes

• When your child is young, you will witness daily events of him engaging in activities that he deems as fun, but you might label as dirty and disgusting. Playing in the mud and looking at and touching bugs is exciting for kids, but not so for mommies. However, it is important when he is little to keep your sense of humor and maintain a positive attitude toward being dirty and messy. You want your kid to grow up without a complex and overwhelming aversion to dirt. Making messes and eating spaghetti -- with most getting all over the child -- are part of normal development. He needs to physically learn how to eat food on his own, no matter how messy he gets, so that he actually enjoys the act of eating and is not worried about being dirty. Let your child eat freely, but when he enjoys throwing his unbreakable cups, glasses and silverware across the room, you should discourage the behavior. If he's earnestly trying to get the food into his mouth and dumps it into his lap instead, be understanding. Your reaction to his attempts to become physically self-sufficient will affect his willingness to do things for himself.