Being Healthy Ourselves Is Important for Our Children

Every parent strives to keep their children healthy. We work hard to ensure they get the right amount of fruits and vegetables, plan activities to keep them active, and educate them on the dangers of bad habits such as drinking and smoking. But do we really practice what we preach? What is the use of telling our children to finish their greens while we leave ours untouched on our plates in favor of fried and other unhealthy options? And, how can we persuade our children that exercise is important if they see us spending our spare time tapping away at the computer, catching up with friends on Facebook or laying in front of the TV like a couch potato? What are we teaching them come cocktail hour when Mommy and Daddy both sigh with relief at the first sip of that sweet drink? Also, while we may think that our kids don’t know we are smoking because we do it at the end of the garden, who are we really kidding? Smoke smells and kids have noses!

So the time has come to take action to set a better example for our children. If we want our kids to eat well, we must lead by example, and all the family must show that they are committed to a healthy balanced diet. Likewise, exercise must be part of family fun time -- we need to play sports together, take walks as a group and generally enjoy active endeavors together. Drinking should become the exception and not the rule and the time has come to look into the many smoking cessation aids on the market including nicotine replacement programs such as patches, gum, electronic cigarettes, or even alternative therapies such as hypnosis. Whatever it takes for us to be healthy, we need to do it for our kids.