I want my kids to be...HEALTHY

I want my kids to be...HEALTHY 1"I don't like doctors," my 3-year-old says that quite often.

"But doctors help people," I say.

She seems unimpressed.

"My baby sister doesn't like doctors either," she announces, confidently...undoubtedly remembering our last trip to the pediatrician.

Even so, she has a little doctor's kit that she plays with almost every day. She examines Minnie Mouse and her little toy sheep and her baby sister. She checks blood pressure and heart rates and reflexes. She give shots and performs surgery and administers medicine.

The interesting thing about the whole charade is that she very, very rarely goes to the doctor herself. By and large, our family is super healthy, for which I am exceedingly grateful.

One of my dreams for my kids is that they stay healthy. I want them to be strong - energetic - thriving - in the pink of health.

I do realize, of course, that "health" isn't always inside our control. There are a lot of diseases and illnesses and accidents that can't be prevented or cured. Sometimes things happen and that's life.

That said, there are a lot of things we CAN do to keep our bodies and our minds active and alert. The top five that come to mind are: (1) Exercise. (2) Eat nutritious, non-processed, raw foods. (3) Drink water. (4) Reduce stress. (5) Laugh and Love.

I know that my girls pick up on how I treat my body, even now...and that keeps me striving. I'm far from perfect though. I know I need to drink more water. I should run more consistently. Etc. Etc.

I need to keep my health front and center on my priority list - for my girls, my husband, my future.

I have another motivating factor besides all of that too: Shhhh...don't tell my girls this...but...I don't really like going to the doctor either.

YOUR TURN: How do you model a healthy lifestyle for your kids?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

9 comments on “I want my kids to be...HEALTHY”

  1. My daughter loves going to the doctor...although the only times we have ever been were for her check ups, which are now only annual visits. We have thankfully been pretty healthy. You are so right about your kids picking up on how you take care of yourself. Whenever I work out at home, both of my kiddos try to help me. Analise will do push ups with me and Jameson tries to sit on my back...the extra 25 lbs. he adds make them a bit harder :)

  2. Loved this, Stephanie! I want my kids to be healthy too. This is such a great reminder to keep that in the front of our minds as parents. They watch so much of what we do, and they follow in our footsteps! :)

  3. My daughter loves her doctor. She "talks" to her on her cell phone almost everyday. She also loves to take medicine... she certainly didn't get that from either one of her parents! This is an area I definitely need to work on though - eating better, exercising more and teaching my children the benefits of that.

  4. I read papers, books, magazines, etc. Also, I try to eat healthy and find interesting healthy meals
    for our family! Of course, exercise for everyone is a necessity!
    Many thanks, Cindi

  5. I'm huge on eating non-processed foods. Before I had kids I really didn't think about it. But kids have a way of shining a magnifying glass on everything you do.

    I watched Oprah's show last week on the documentary Food Inc. It was extremely interesting and had me thinking about switching to all organic. Even though it is a lot more expensive I'm trying to figure out the cost benefit analysis. It's so confusing!

  6. Hehe! I don't so much like doctors either!! We avoid them like the plague around here. And, a large part of avoiding them is staying healthy.

    Although, Levi is oddly suspicious of most vegetables. I have hope that he will eventually follow my lead and become a veggie lover. He does at least talk about vegetables all the time. Now, if we can just get him to branch out and eat more of them....

  7. We've always been pretty healthy eaters, and am so happy when my kids (well, especially the oldest) proclaim how much they love veggies or fruit or whatever. Since I've really gotten on the running kick over the last 6 or 7 months, I can see how that affects her too! She used to be bummed when I would leave, but now it is just one of those things. She tells me "you go running now" and says that she wants to go running with me "when she gets a little bit bigger." On walks, she runs ahead and says "like mommy do" which makes my heart smile! I can't wait for them to both get "a little bit bigger" (ok, I can wait... but for the sake of this one conversation) so I can take them on those "fun runs." She did get to watch me run an 5K a few months ago and was talking about it for weeks.
    Modeling is everything for children, and her outlook on health and exercise is one of my favorite parts of running.

MetropolitanMama - See The World, One City at a Time
©2024 Metropolitan Mama - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram