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A PESONAL note to
parents:
Kids are 50% of the world’s population and 100% of our future. It is a great and important responsibility to raise a kid. The lessons we learn as a child are the ones we never forget. It is important to realize that especially young children need a positive mental attitude, proper nutrition, and regular physical activity in order to grow healthy and build a wholesome, strong and lasting foundation for life! It is important to realize that your child is even more sensitive to a lack of activity and healthy nutrition than you are, because it is growing and building it’s foundation for life! Be aware that every single day your child is learning and getting ready for the rest of it’s live! Here are some simple but effective ways that will enable you to help your child make healthy living a lifelong lasting priority. The first and only true wealth is health – without it nothing is enjoyable! The following guidelines are easy to teach and can stay with your child for a lifetime: LIVING WITH RESPECT AND INTEGRITY: Outlook Ø Make sure to let your kids now that you love them and that they are special to you the way they are no matter what. This is the biggest inspiration they can get! Ø Tell them that they have only one body in life and therefore should respect themselves as well as others the way they are. Ø Tell them that the highest power in the world is just to be the best you can be. Ø Inspire them to live with integrity, dignity, respect and tolerance by being a good example YOURSELF. Kids act by what they see, be aware of that fact constantly! Be a good role model and tell you children to be good role models – we all are! BEING ACTIVE: Exercising as a way of life Ø Encourage your kids to get involved in physical activities for at least 60 minutes daily. Ø Get active yourself on a regular basis with your kids, even if you just take a walk together Ø Give them options to be active: Set up a volleyball court in your yard, give them a bike, tennis rackets, take them to a park to play or walk together, play ball or take a simple walk in your neighborhood together. The possibilities are countless! Ø From time to time demand that they turn the TV and computer off and hand your kids something like a baseball so they get inspired to become active. Or ask them to take a walk with you, if possible daily! Ø Throw neighborhood parties featuring activities such as swimming, dancing, basketball games, etc. Why not have a little event once a week or month for your kids! Ø Have your child find and join a local sports team so it can be active with others. Any sport works great – there are dozens of appropriate ones for kids. While children shouldn’t hit the gym yet in order to stay in shape – this time is perfect to participate in sports! For example, I was active in many different sports as a kid, such as swimming, hockey, martial arts, wrestling, decathlon and so on. Most sport clubs offer tryout lessons, which is a perfect way to find out what kind of activities your own child likes. Do not push anything, but present options.
EATING HEALTHY: Nutrition skills and habitsØ Learn which food is best for your kids – and at the same time for you! Choose food based on low saturated fat, total fat and cholesterol. Watch the sugars and carbohydrates, as they are pure energy and turn into fat if not burned off. Ø Teach your children the basics about food and how to make healthy choices. It is never too early to learn about the meaning of living healthy! Make it fun to learn it, ask them questions as a challenge. Ø Show your children how to prepare healthy food choices such as vegetables, salads and others – this makes them more interesting for them to eat. Again, what we learn and get used to as children easily becomes a habit and will stay forever! Ø Allow your kids to pick out their favorite healthy food choices at the grocery store themselves. Teach them the common dietary guidelines, and encourage them to try new, unusual looking things. Ø Plan your family meals together. That way you get everyone involved in eating healthy. Make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast every day and pack them – or even better let them pack - healthy snacks such as fruits and nuts instead of candy bars! Ø Make sure your kid eats at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day along with some seeds and nuts. Offer them fruits like apples, pears, bananas and nuts like almonds as snacks and deserts at all times. Make sure their plate includes some vegetables and lettuce – row or cooked – with any meal. That way your child is learning to use more of nature’s real treasures and candies (fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds!) and not or less unhealthy junk or processed foods! Tell your kids to eat junk food, fast food and unhealthy candies in moderation, only 1-2 times a week. Ø Always watch very carefully what you feed your child. Read the labels and choose low sugar, low fat foods. Avoid any highly processed foods. That means foods that have many ingredients. Ø Do not confuse love with giving your children lots of food or letting them watch hours of TV each day. To love your children means to care about their health by feeding them healthy, and inspire them to be active on a regular basis every day. Do not force your children – but inspire them, educate them and finally let them make the decision to live healthy themselves – you will be surprised that they will! A little story at the end: We all know that sometimes kids just don’t want to eat fruits and vegetables and prefer salty, sugary tasting fast food. Well, my godson Samuel loves pure brown rice and vegetables – with no gravy. Why – because his mother cooks them all the time and he is USED to eat them. What does this true story tell us one more time? YES, Children act by what they SEE! Therefore, be a good role model yourself! There is nothing that tastes as good as mother nature – don’t forget that, for the sake of your whole family. It is always best to start as early as possible to eat healthy and be active. Use the guidelines above and in this booklet. Soon or late your kid can and WILL learn to enjoy healthy food choices and doesn’t want to miss activity for the rest of its life! Franco Carlotto
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