5 (relatively) easy New Year ’s resolutions for healthier, happier kids (and families)

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire It’s that time of year again, the time when we make resolutions. We set goals, make plans and imagine ways that we can do better in the year to come. We usually have good ideas — the problem tends to be in making those ideas actually happen. We get busy, the resolutions are too ambitious, we really don’t want to give up sweetsfor whatever reason, resolutions often fade away by February. It’s too bad, because while there may be some families out there with perfect lifestyle habits, I’m guessing they are few and far between. We all have room for improvement. The key may be setting goals that are achievable — and practical. Here are five suggestions that most families can manage — and that can make all the difference when it comes to setting everyone on a healthier path: 1. Eat one more family meal a week. Family meals have all sorts of benefits, from decreasing the risk of obesity to improving vocabulary to keeping teens out of trouble. Plus, they are a nice way to check in with each other. Work, homework, and activity schedules can make it hard to get everybody in the same place at the same time, but it’s worth the effort. Keep the food simple: something like pasta and salad (or some heated up frozen vegetables) is fine. The point is to be together. 2. Have everyone eat one more serving of fruits or vegetables a day. The recommendation is five servings a day, and my experience as a pediatrician is that very few people actually do ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Children's Health Parenting Source Type: blogs