Just like your health, your family means a lot to you, but these two essential things in life also overlap. You want your family to be healthy and happy, and if you’re a parent or caregiver, much of this responsibility falls to you.
You have the power to set the stage. However, your own experiences with health (and weight) may differ from others in your family, so how you address these topics may vary from how you learned about them. But by exploring health and wellness as a family, you can discover new things together and have fun while doing it!
Modeling Wellness for Your Family
Investing time and energy into your family’s wellness can:
- Establish an open line of communication
- Build trust, understanding, and encouragement
- Improve mood and self-esteem
- Create a family bond
- Lengthen the time you have to spend together
However, while the benefits of good health and practicing wellness together may seem obvious to you, this might not be the case for some of your loved ones. By stepping up and modeling self-care and all forms of wellness, you can set the stage by being an example.
Here are a few tips for getting started.
Establish Healthy Nutrition Habits
- Eat alongside each other, away from the television and other distrations.
- Develop a shopping list together and take a group trip to the grocery store.
- Create new recipes together.
- Plant a produce garden with suggestions from each family member.
Join Together in Physical Activity
- Go for group bike rides, hikes, walks, and other outdoor activities.
- Join a family sport or activity such as kickball, bowling, or indoor rock climbing.
- Create boundaries for time spent inside and using electronics.
- Set up physical challenges that bring out everyone’s competitive spirit.
Emphasize Regular Self-Care
- Schedule routine exams with your family’s primary care physician/pediatrician.
- Talk to each other about your goals, concerns, and challenges.
- Help each other find ways to manage stress and workload.
- Model other self-care activities like hobbies, regular exercise, personal hygiene, and more.
Each of these steps begin with you. When you engage in any of the activities listed above, you are showing your family that health and self-care are priorities in your life that can’t be moved. By committing to your own goals, your family can learn a lot from your behavior.
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