The Secrets Of Happy Kids

The Secrets Of Happy Kids

When you eat right, move more, and enjoy life to the fullest, so do your kids. Many parents do a great job when it comes to the essentials of parenthood. They make boo-boos better with kisses, keep nighttime's scary monsters at bay, and cheer on their children's sporting and academic accomplishments. But to raise truly healthy and happy children, you must do more. 

For optimal health, children must eat a diet low in sugar and high in fiber, fruits, and vegetables. For fitness and weight control, they need to exercise. For mental well-being, they must learn how to handle stress and accept their bodies. Modeling those positive habits for your children will get you halfway there. To finish the job, follow these pointers.

Instill healthy body image.

Unfortunately, today's obsession with being superthin is taking root earlier and earlier in childhood. Even a first-grader is likely to believe that "thinner is better," reports a recent Australian study of more than 500 school-age girls and boys. 

This precocious desire for thinness can lead to unhealthy eating behaviors at a time when good nutrition is critical to healthy physical development: Nearly one in three 10- to 14-year-old girls restricts her food intake, concludes a Canadian survey of 2,220.

"Studies routinely find that about 40% of elementary school girls and 25% of elementary school boys are dissatisfied with their bodies," says Linda Smolak, PhD, a Kenyon College psychologist who studies body image and eating disorder development in children and adolescents. These unhappy and self-conscious kids report more frequent feelings of depression, insecurity, and anxiety.

To thwart unhealthy body image, counter the images that bombard your kids. Follow these tips:

Uncover media myths. TV, movies, music videos, fashion magazines, video games, and the Internet inundate children with unfiltered, unreliable, and unrealistic messages about what is beautiful and desirable. Don't wait for kids to ask about what they see on the screen or in photos the way you might wait for questions about how babies are made. Instead, be alert to opportunities for explaining that the ultrathin young actress or the supermuscular athlete has a body that is not realistic for most of us.

Give alternatives. You might hear your daughter say, "Yuck. Look at that fat girl. She needs to be on a diet." Respond by explaining that, although being too heavy can be unhealthy, dieting usually isn't the solution—and being heavy doesn't make someone yucky or bad. Tell her that instead of dieting, it's better to eat healthful foods and move your body every day. 

Listen to yourself. As you're talking to your kids about their body image, listen to those little comments you make about yourself like "I feel fat today" or "I have to lose five pounds before bathing-suit season." Sound familiar? Remember, you're caught up in the same culture that's influencing your children, and what you say about your own body will strongly influence how your child sees herself, especially if she is under age 12, says Smolak. Children model their beliefs and behaviors on what you do, not on what you say they should do.

By Alisa Bauman 

Article Source: http://www.prevention.com/

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