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Building the foundations for a healthy lifestyle starts at home. The habits children learn when they are young will stay with them long after they leave the family home- and this includes leading an active lifestyle.
However, modeling good lifestyle habits can be easier said than done. Between busy work schedules and household obligations, finding the time to stay active can be challenging. This blog will explore a few ways busy families can help promote healthy habits, from choosing the right Surrey city childcare to ways to make being active fun for the family.
Children today are more connected to digital devices than ever before. A recent report by Common Sense Media showed that kids between 2 and 4 are consuming an average of 2.5 screen time hours per day watching things like YouTube, with that number jumping to 3 hours for kids between 5 and 8. Conversely, most experts recommend kids under 4 get at most 1 hour of screen time per day and children older than 5 less than 2 hours.
Whether it’s to get a few minutes of quiet while cooking dinner, provide a distraction during grocery shopping, or unwind at the end of a long day, screens are everywhere. However, replacing screen time with another activity is easier than you may think.
• Grocery list game: Make food shopping an activity for kids of all ages. Younger children can enjoy all sights, smells, and different textures of various items as you talk and shop your way through your order. Allow older children to participate in food shopping by making it a “treasure” hunt. Provide them with a list of items they need to help “find.”
• Get help in the kitchen: Kids love to get messy, and what space is better to explore in than the kitchen? Kids of all ages can get involved in meal preparation. It’s a fun activity that lets parents spend more time with their kids while teaching them important lessons about food preparation and healthy eating.
• Active screenplay: Sometimes, we all need a little screen time. But rather than aimlessly absorbing empty YouTube content, focus your kids on active play screen time. Most video game consoles have games that require kids to move their bodies, not just their thumbs, and even YouTube has a good selection of active adventures, yoga, and role-play games geared toward children.
Revamp Movie Night
Family movie night is a staple in many Surrey households, but why not add an active element to a family favourite? Before getting cozy with a bowl of popcorn, spend an afternoon outdoors with your kids, exploring a new playground, hiking trail, or even an arranged playdate with family or friends.
Too wet to play outside? Why not preface movie night with an active family game? Games like The Floor is Lava, Twister, and even Just Dance are fun for the whole family and get everyone moving.
Quality Surrey City Childcare
The right Surrey city childcare can be a tremendously positive influence on your young children. The staff working at Surrey childcare centres understand the importance of building good habits early on and will provide a range of activities that incorporate the best of physical activity, healthy eating habits, and other educational activities.
Rather than being at home on a screen, you can expect your Surrey city childcare centre to fill your child’s day with structured play, songs, outdoor activity, age-appropriate learning activities, and of course, free play time to help flex their imagination muscles.