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Set your child up for life long healthy habits!

· Habits,healthy,Lifestyle

Set your child up for life long healthy habits!

Research published in January 2017, found… one in five children in Australian is obese before they start school.

The researchers of this article, highlight the importance of introducing children to healthy eating habits and physical activity in these early formative years. They say that it is important to give children the best start in life whilst they are forming their tastes, preferences and habits.
So what can you do as a parent or caregiver? Role model the behaviours you would like to see, so remember… ‘what monkey see, monkey do’.
Introduce your child to a variety of vegetables and fruits. It’s a simple as eating from a rainbow, as a family. For example…make a salad with your child and add lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots and avocado. Dress with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and crumble some feta cheese on it. If your child does not have nut allergies, sprinkle dry roasted slithered almonds on top.
Get your child outdoors, into nature, and… play ball, shoot some hoops, throw a Frisbee, ride a bike, go to the park play on the equipment or walk the dog. Just get outdoors and do things together as a family.
Making healthy lifestyle choices such as, eating healthy and getting active, benefits the whole family.

Most importantly, helping your child to establish healthy behaviours that can become lifelong habits has both short and long-term benefits on their physical and mental health and well-being.