Fall Into Good Character-Healthy Habits
Have you met Healthy Hippo? This is one of the nine Characters of Character who have impacted thousand of children and helped build a firm foundation for our children to build up on. There are many ways to build healthy habits, one of which is a balance of a healthy body and a healthy mind. With these two things in balance, you’re sure to form healthy habits! Today, it’s very important to have a healthy mindset, for this will help plunge us forward into healthy habits. We all know the importance of a healthy diet, exercise, etc. and with a healthy mindset we’re more likely to stay on a better path to healthy habits.
Here are some tips from Healthy Hippo to help teach or reinforce in your own children the importance of healthy habits:
Be encouraging:
First, limit screen time with your family
This will allow for more time to take advantage of the outdoors and even indoor activities to build healthy habits.
Read with your child each and every day and build a healthy mind
Discover things of interest in your child and they will want to learn more about the topic, read more, write more and communicate more on this as well. Write down new words, build a word wall, have them write about their interests in a journal, draw pictures, build models from clay, get creative!
Get in the kitchen!
Read food labels of course, then continue your creativity with making colorful meals, fun snacks and even create a family recipe book to which you can continue to add as you and your children discover new dishes. During the holidays share this with other family members!
Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, keeping it well balanced. Ask your child to help you in the kitchen and discover new meals.
Take turns choosing which outdoor activities you can do together or as a Team Sport, be encouraging to get out and enjoy the great outdoors!
Perhaps you can make a scavanger or treasure hunt outdoors to discover new bugs, trees, smells, etc. There is so much beauty in our surroundings to discover and to learn from.
Listen to your children, they’ll share with you what they find interesting, discover these things by listening, observing and doing.
Be a role model!
If you’re sitting there eating a bag of chips and watching your favorite program, what do you think your children will pick up on? Make healthy choices and your children will make healthier decisions as well. When I introduced Healthy Hippo in our classroom the students became A L OT more aware of what their peers were eating and friendly discussions began. One mom said her son came home and wanted to help making his lunch and had a list of the foods he wanted to include. A teachable moment!
Not ‘IF’ but, ‘WHEN’ your child or student has healthy habits, reward them, encourage them to keep up the good work! Print out this certificate of achievement from Healthy Hippo to help get you started. YOU are NOT spoiling a child with encouragement by any means. I had many ways to encourage our kids while they were growing up. While each of them had their own personalities, it was up to my husband and I to recognize what sparked them. When a child has difficulty with a task, project or new environment, its really very important to help them feel comfortable to come to you with any questions or concerns that they may have. You are building a strong foundation for your child to learn from and to grow with. As they become older they are more likely to make better choices in their daily decisions. That is NOT spoiling them. Think about how you feel when you are encouraged? You don’t shut down. You don’t quit or stop trying, do you? Children need encouragement and to understand what your expectations are in all situations. So, encourage them! Be their role model and allow them to internalize the feeling of your approval for a job well done. It’s important to not just point out the bad choices that are made, but instead, point out the good choices. This puts a bounce in their step, a smile on their face and happiness all around!
Brushing your teeth at least twice a day is a healthy habit! Click here to print out the above coloring page, use as a sticker chart or visual reminder. Click here for Healthy Hippo Resource book filled with templates, ideas and suggestions to teach and reinforce healthy habits in your children or students. Click here for the Healthy Hippo Bulletin Board and Poster book to use as visuals and engage your children or students in these fun activities. Click here for the story titled, “Let’s Be Healthy” starring Healthy Hippo. Click here for a fun book on shapes and colors with Healthy Hippo! Click here to see our books on Amazon.
