Here’s a fun fact:
Baby birds aren’t born knowing how to sing. Instead, they learn their songs from adult birds during the Spring. That means Springtime is more than April showers and May flowers – it’s a time for learning! It’s a time marked by new beginnings and opportunities to develop the skills for lifelong health and happiness.
So, let’s take a page out of our feathered friend’s songbook, and learn new habits for a happy, healthy, and harmonic life. Here are 5 habits to start with your kiddos this Spring.
Take a Daily Walk
A daily walk is a simple habit that is suuuuuper beneficial for you and your kiddo. In the short term, walking outdoors and soaking up the sun rays increases your Vitamin D levels. Which means more protection against the common cold and flu, a positive effect on digestion, and even a mood-boosting benefit.
Daily walks also aid in child development and promote a good night’s sleep – something all parents need more of!
Lifelong Benefit: Staying active
With something simple, like a daily walk, what we’re really teaching our kids is the importance of staying active. And making physical activity a habit means it will be much easier to keep it up in the long run.
Storytime
You may have tried bedtime stories in the past only to leave them half read. But storytime doesn’t have to be long. It doesn’t even have to include reading – at least not completely. And it definitely doesn’t have to be at bedtime.
Instead, set aside 15 minutes during the day to engage with books. Maybe your kiddo is just looking at the pictures, asking questions about the characters, or sounding out vocabulary words. If you get to read the story, great. If not, that’s fine too. Because when we’re trying to instill new habits, we need to take things slow. The important thing is setting aside time every day and before you know it, it’ll be as automatic as brushing your teeth.
Lifelong Benefit: A love of learning
Stories have a way of sparking curiosity and imagination. They also help develop our kiddo’s brains, ability to focus, and learn new material for lifelong learning.
Brush After Every Meal
Sadly, there is an epidemic of tooth decay from sugar. And sweetened beverages, such as juice and soda, are leading the cause! But one way we can help prevent tooth decay and have happy, healthy teeth is by brushing our teeth after every meal – not just at the beginning and end of the day.
Lifelong Benefit: Healthy Dental Hygiene
Good brushing skills not only reduce the amount of sugar left on our kiddo’s teeth, but promote healthy dental hygiene that continues into adulthood.
Get more Vitamins
It’s no secret – vitamins and nutrients are like sunshine to our souls! They give our kiddo’s bodies all the goodies they need for healthy growth and development. To get into the habit of getting more vitamins, try adding 1 fruit or veggie to every meal. Now, we know kiddos tend to have a “refined palette,” so try these tips to get more nutrients into your little one’s diet.
Lifelong Benefit: Health and Wellness
It’s easier to develop a healthy relationship with food and promote health and wellness when we start young. But if your little one won’t touch fruits and veggies, fill in nutrient gaps with a sugar-free multivitamin for kids.
Make Your Bed
“A simple task, mundane at best,” Admiral, William H. McRaven said in his commencement speech, “but making your bed will reinforce the fact that the little things matter.”
Let your little ones beam with pride as they get into a habit of making their bed every morning. Reinforce to them that the little things matter and empower them to accomplish tasks to the best of their ability. Not only will their rooms look cleaner (and ours too!), but this little task will motivate us to accomplish more throughout the day.
The earlier our kiddos learn to do the little things right, the more they’ll be able to do the big things right! So, as Admiral McRaven ended his speech:
“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”
Lifelong Benefit: Change the World:)
Let us know what habits you’ll start with your kiddos this Spring by tagging us on Instagram @RenzosVitamins