What Is Healthy Parenting?

Healthy parenting I suppose is all about getting our children to grow up fit and healthy. My thought is that it's no good to take the tack of "do as I say not as I do", as the kids will learn more from your example than they will from what you say. Let's face it, it's best for the whole family that everyone looks after their health; then the children will grow up with healthy habits, because that's what everyone in their family is living.

Holistic Health

When we're talking about health we need to consider all aspects of health:

physical,

mental,

emotional.

It's not helpful to be physically healthy and stressed up to the eyeballs! In truth that's unlikely to ever be the case as we are whole beings and the different aspects of our being effect each other e.g. prolonged stress causes physical symptoms and physical illness can cause emotional problems.

Put On Your Own Mask First

Just as on an aeroplane, the stewards advise you to put on your own oxygen mask before helping your child; we mothers should prioritise looking after our own health. We can't be good mothers if unwell, and we can't teach healthy lifestyles without living them. Healthy parenting is all about setting a good example.

Look After Your Body

We're not talking about specific physical conditions here, because that's outside the scope of this website, we're talking about healthy habits that contribute to good physical health.

A Healthy Diet

One of the big issues in healthy parenting is a healthy diet. We all know the theory, but the practice is more difficult right? The problem is there's too much c**p out there that tastes good but gives us nothing but empty calories, and lots of them! I think that we really have to decide that we want to be healthy and be prepared and determined to do what it takes to achieve that. Our children's future depends on it; whatever example we are setting that is most likely the kind of adult your child will turn into. Take a good look in the mirror: is that what you want for your child? If not, maybe it's time to change your habits. Maybe you have mental blocks that are keeping you overweight, these can be overcome with awareness and a committed decision to change.

Regular Exercise

An important part of healthy parenting is regular exercise. It doesn't have to be strenuous to pay dividends, just little things like getting off the bus a stop earlier and taking the stairs rather than the lift are enough on a regular basis to help you maintain a healthy weight and keep your heart and lungs healthy.

Healthy Weight

A good measure of whether you are a healthy weight is the body mass index. You can work out your BMI in two steps: first square your height in metres, then take your weight in kilograms and divide it by your height squared. The resulting number is your BMI. e.g.

Height=1.60 metres

Weight=79 kilos

1.60 x 1.60 = 2.56

79 / 2.56 = 30.85 BMI

If the result comes to between 18.5 and 25, well done, you're a healthy weight.

A result of less than 18.5 means you're underweight.

A result of between 25 and 29 means you're overweight.

A result of over 30 means you're obese and over 40 is morbidly obese.

Clearly a healthy weight will go a long way to ensure your good health and set a good example for your children.

Get Rid Of Bad Habits

STOP SMOKING! There is no space for smoking in healthy parenting.

Our alcohol intake should be kept to a sociable minimum, within government guideline amounts.

The first step to change for us all is recognising change is necessary.

Mental Health

Healthy parenting is looking after our mental health and a big part of that is learning to manage stress. Parenting is good for causing stress in our lives, it's all part of the price of motherhood. There are many causes of parenting stress , sometimes dealing with the root cause will be the most appropriate course of action. Also general care of your mental health will help.

Change Your View

It really helps to change the way you perceive or think about the circumstance that is causing you stress. It's us fighting against the circumstance that is the cause of the stress. Man, I was in a seriously bad way mentally when my ex got residency of my two eldest sons, but now I'm coming to an acceptance and a belief that they'll be fine, and I feel so much happier. I've really had to train my mind to believe that, as there has been evidence to the contrary. It's a case of taking control of what's going in in your mind, of getting my mind more healthy and positive.

Emotional Health

Another part of healthy parenting is looking after our emotional health. I think us mothers are the mood setters in the home, I certainly know that I am in my home. When I get out of bed in a bad mood, invariably my son will be grumpy too and my husband will just keep out of my way. There's all the more reason therefore to keep my emotions on an even keel. I think having a healthy self-esteem is also an important part of emotional health.

Acknowledge The Pain

Everyone has some emotional pain in their life, but it's probably buried deep inside. That's where it festers, causing all sorts of mental and physical problems. We need to acknowledge it's existence in order to overcome it. It may be that the pain is obvious, or it may be that some counselling will be needed to get to the bottom of your unhappiness.

Feel The Pain

We need to surrender to the pain and really feel it. There is a law of the universe which says that "what you resist persists"; in this case, as long as you resist the pain it will persist. So we really need to let it wash over us and accept it, only then will we be able to release it.

Release It

There is an amazing technique called Emotional Freedom Technique which helps you to release negative emotions and thereby solves all manner of other issues. Take a look at this video to get an idea of what it's all about:

Healthy parenting requires us to set the best example we can to our kids; they will respect us for our efforts in the right direction! Changing the family habits will take time and persistance, but there are lots of simple things you can do together to get healthier:

cycling

healthy cooking

walks

swimming

ice skating

bowling

Go to celebrating life with children for lots more ideas.

Good luck!

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