15 healthy habits for families

What healthy habits should you introduce for your family?

Health and happiness begins at home. A healthy family cultivates good habits together. Of course, we all want our kids to eat healthy foods. We want them to get exercise.

The thing is, it's really hard to find the time for getting healthy and losing weight, and too often we rely on takeout food and TV dinners, even though we know they aren't as healthy as they should be.

What can we do?

The good news is, health and happiness is an accumulation of small, simple lifestyle-changing habits. It can take some time to adjust to a new routine, but once a healthy behavior has become a family habit, your family will quickly become healthier and happier together.

15 awesome and easy healthy habits for families to keep together

1. Eat family meals together - Make meals a family time where you sit and talk about your day, no cell phones allowed! Even a very busy family should be able to plan one scheduled family meal a day (or at the very least one per week). It could be a special homemade dinner, or even a pizza night. A family meal is an important habit for a close family to develop.
2. Cook family meals together - I believe that everyone, man or woman, should know how to cook at least a few simple meals. Letting your kids "help" with the cooking (no matter how messy it may get) serves a few purposes. First, it helps teach kids basic cooking skills, which they can carry with them through their lives. Second, you can use it as an opportunity to teach your kids about healthy eating and portion control. Third, cooking together as a family is a very good bonding experience that can bring the family close together. Have fun with it!
3. Take time to volunteer in the community together - Make it a habit to volunteer in your community. This could be something organized, like volunteering at a local organization, or as simple as taking a walk at the park together and picking up trash. This teaches your kids to take care of their neighborhood, and encourages them to be more mindful about helping others.
4. Eat at the table - No matter how busy and rushed you are, try to make it a habit to eat at the table, not in front of the TV. Eating while distracted can lead to unconscious and unmindful overeating. Keeping meal time to a designated space can help your family to learn better portion control, as well as encourage more family time.
5. Cut out soda entirely - Replace soda with healthy alternatives, such as green tea, seltzer, and lots and lots of water. Water doesn't have to be boring and bland! Why not try infusing water with some peppermint or a slice of lemon? Kids will enjoy helping choose the fruits to infuse water with.
6. Shut off the TV - Limit TV time. This even goes for mom and dad! Parents should be good role models for their kids, even if it means shutting off the game. Limit TV time to one or two hours a day, after homework is finished. Instead, try to encourage your kids to play games, read a book, or get fresh air. Limiting television time is a very important healthy habit that can help the whole family.
7. Have a family game night - Plan a night once a month to sit down together and play a family board game. Don't be too competitive, just have fun together as a family. Board games increase problem solving skills in children and teenagers, and help keep adults sharp as well. Additionally, having fun together as a family is a healthy habit that you should encourage.
8. Go grocery shopping together - Teach kids about healthy eating by bringing them with you to the supermarket. Always make a list before you go, in order to limit impulse buying! At the supermarket, you can discuss healthy options, and let your kids help you pick out healthy snacks like nuts, fruits, and vegetables.
9. Read together - Reading aloud as a family is a wonderful habit to form. You can read picture books to young children, and novels together as your kids get older. This is a really important family activity that helps the family bond. It is much more powerful than watching television together. Even as your kids get older, make time to read aloud together. Encouraging your children to read, and instilling a love of reading in them, is vital in helping them develop their vocabulary, imagination, and learning skills.
10. Eat until full, not until the plate is empty - Teach your children about mindful eating. Try to encourage the whole family to eat until they are full, not until their plates are empty, and to avoid having second helpings too often. It's a lot easier to teach kids to eat healthy, and to prevent weight gain than it is to lose weight! It should be a habit for a family to stay healthy together.
11. Take a family walk together - Take a walk - at a hiking trail, at the park, or even around the neighborhood - and talk. It's important for a close family to get fresh air and exercise together.
12. Play together outside - Toss a baseball or a Frisbee. Go for a swim. Try to have plenty of outdoor activities for the whole family.
13. Try new things - Teach your kids not to be picky eaters so that they will be more willing to stick to healthy snacks and foods later in life. Act as a role model by planning "new food night" as a family. Once a month, pick out a new food to try. Maybe you can try hummus, sushi, or dragonfruit. You don't have to like every new food that you try, but it's important to show kids that it's good to try new things. Trying new things as a family can be a fun and exciting family habit that your kids will look forward to.
14. Keep family traditions - Make holidays a special time for the family. Cook a feast together at Thanksgiving. Decorate a tree for Christmas. Make sure that everyone has something to do to get ready for the holiday, and keep your family traditions together. As your children grow older, they will always remember and cherish the special holiday times that you made a family habit when they were younger.
15. Make time for a vacation (or staycation) - Not every family has the money or time for a family vacation, and that's ok. Instead, take a "staycation". Visit the local national park for a camping trip, explore your city's museums. Act like a tourist in your own hometown (visit all of the tacky tourist traps). Family vacations (or weekend staycations) are a really important way for a family to relax and have fun together. You don't need to spend any money at all, but it's important to take time to enjoy each other's company and make family time a new family habit.