Protecting your family’s health is important, and it’s a lot easier than you may think. Although it may be difficult to feel like you’re doing everything you can to ensure their well-being, there are actually many easy and highly effective ways to improve your family’s health and happiness. Here are seven suggestions that will help you start making improvements today.
1. Exercise Together
Today, Australia has one in every of the highest rates of obesity within the world – in 2017-18, 67 of adult Australians and 25th of youngsters aged 2-17 were overweight or obese (ABS, 2017-18 National Health Survey).
Staying active prolongs your life, lowers stress and reduces the risk of childhood obesity. Children need at least an hour and a half of physical aerobic exercise every day, while adults should strive for 175 minutes of moderate cardio per week. Some of the most fun ways to exercise also make for wonderful family bonding moments. These include:
● Walking the dog together
● Going for a swim
● Hiking
● Biking
2. Meal Plan
Nutrition can be overlooked by busy parents whose hectic schedules leave little room for thorough meal prep. Rather than relying on takeout and quick fixes, plan ahead and prepare your meals over the weekend so you have easy access to balanced dishes all week long.
The average Australian already consumes an excessive amount of salt and added sugar and this is often joined to the redoubled risk of diseases, like a heart condition, sort 2 diabetes and a few cancers.
Your children can pitch in; even toddlers can help wash fruits and veggies and pack them up to store for the week ahead. Meal planning and cooking together is fun for kids and also helps promote healthy eating habits they’ll carry with them throughout life.
3. Be a Team
Happy, healthy families stand by one another and work as a unit. Rather than having a designated “leader” who governs the entire household, healthy families listen to one another’s feelings, respect each other’s opinions and are inclusive regardless of a person’s age. Children can learn about the importance of being respectful and courteous from an early age by experiencing that from their parents.
Strive to include your children as often as possible, allowing their voices to be heard and using big moments as teaching opportunities.
4. Expand Your Insurance Coverage
You never want to be too short on family health insurance when your family needs care. Take some time to review your current policy and assess your future goals. Are you an established family that needs greater everyday coverage, or do you plan on growing more and want hospital and birthing services covered, too?
Your medical needs evolve as your family grows, and you want to make sure that you have health insurance that suits every stage of life.
5. Plan for Emergencies
Emergency coverage should be a part of your health insurance, but you should also set up a separate savings account and put money away as often as you can. An emergency fund doesn’t always have to be medical-related, either; it could cover the cost of damages sustained in a car crash, fire or other accident. Overall, $2.6 billion are withdrawn from Australian savings accounts annually, with quite half of the United States (57%) using the savings for the odd bill or purchase.
According to statistics from MoneySmart, simply over half (57%) of Australians invest a number of their financial gain into savings. This leaves 43rd of Aussies who don’t save the least bit, either from not knowing the advantages of saving or from not having the money to spare.
6. Prioritize Quality Time
If there’s anything that matters as a parent, it’s spending time with your kids. It doesn’t matter how much you love your children if they never get a chance to experience it. Your little ones will carry their feelings toward you into all of their future relationships, and you’ll want to embrace the moments you have now to enjoy your children’s youth.
As they get older, they’ll form friendships and eventually start families of their own. Don’t wait until they’re adults to try and form a relationship. Quality time is as simple as eating dinner together every night (no TV or phones!) and reading a book together before bed. Develop your own rituals and create memories you’ll both cherish for a lifetime.
Your Family Health Plan
Setting a schedule and sticking to a simple but effective routine will help ensure every family member’s well-being. From physical health to social connection, make sure that you check-in with every aspect of your family’s needs and make adjustments as necessary. The best thing you can do for your family is: Be open and adaptive to change.