Everyone wants to feel better about themselves. Whether young or old, we want to eat better, do more exercise, get more sleep and just generally feel healthy. But living well isn’t something you can do on your own. Habits are influenced by the people around you and none more so than your own family. So if you want to live better, feel good and move more, what better place to start than with your own kith and kin? Here are our top tips on healthy living for the whole family from easy cricket games for kids to getting a good night’s rest.
Why it’s good to get healthy together
Lots of healthy living regimes focus on the individual, so why should we think instead about involving the people around us, whether they’re our kids, siblings, parents, aunts, uncles or grandparents? There are lots of good reasons:
You can support each other
Trying to be healthy together will mean you all automatically have moral support. Your family are the people closest to you and when you’re having a difficult day or have fallen off the healthy living bandwagon, they’ll understand what it’s like and be there to help you get back up.
It allows you to participate in activities as a group
Lots of things that promote healthy living are better done in a group. Think team sports and cooking healthy meals. New habits are much easier to keep when you’re all making an effort to do it together.
Avoid temptation
Likewise, if you’re trying to cut down on chocolate and the people in your household are eating lots, it will just lead to temptation. When you all do it together you can just keep the things you’re trying to stay well away from.
You can inspire each other
If you see your family member going the extra mile, it can encourage you to go the extra 0.1 of a mile, and that’s when it counts! This also means that you can talk about planning a rest day or inspiring members of your family to taking the time to go and see a doctor or physician if you get ill or injured.
You can help each other out
Going to the gym together gives you an opportunity to check your technique and the technique of everyone who’s with you. A family member might give you tips about how to improve your form and increase your ability on the sports field. Or a member of your group might be able to give you some pointers on avoiding injuries.
How to get the whole family fit
So if you want to get kids, grandparents and everyone in between involved, what are the best strategies for healthy living?
Playgroup sports: Why not try instituting a weekly family team game? It’s a great way to get everyone involved and active. If you have little ones opt for easy cricket games or other simplified versions of sports.
Cook and eat healthy meals together: Set everyone in the family a task to cook a healthy meal once a week. This will help share responsibilities and give everyone the chance to decide what they want to eat.
Go food shopping together: In addition to the point above; going shopping together is also key in improving how healthily your family eats every week. Older members of your family might not realise that there are healthier versions of the foods they’ve eaten all their lives. And the younger members of your family might not realise that sweets aren’t a vegetable… Go shopping as a family to teach your family how to read nutritional info and put together meal plans.
Go to bed and get up at the same time: Sleeping well is absolutely vital for health and it’s much easier to get a good night’s sleep if the whole household goes to bed at the same time. Agree on a nightly curfew and try to stick to it.
Positive thinking: You won’t be undertaking any seriously strenuous activity as a family, so it’s almost more important to make sure your headspace is positive. In those moments when the sofa is calling, it’s up to you to have the willpower to rally your family and get them up and moving. Try to remember that nobody ever regrets getting up and pursuing a healthier lifestyle!
Cut down on screen-time: Watching sport or playing sport on a device is fun, but it’s not as fun as playing the actual sport itself. Getting to play outside not only improves your and your family’s physical health – it’s great for your mental health too as it helps keep your mind more active than using a game or tv controller.
Those are our top tips for helping you and your family achieve a healthier lifestyle. Remember, every task is more manageable when it’s shared so work together to set some realistic goals and then enjoy spending time together as you achieve them.
