Raising a Child to be Happy and Healthy

Every parent has a desires for their children to grow up to find health, happiness and success throughout their life.  If you are raising a child, here are seven tips to raising a happy and healthy child.

1. Teach gratefulness

Teach your child to be grateful.  Help them appreciate all things in life, not matter how big or small they are.   Show them to be grateful by playing with your child in the park, feeding ducks, enjoying beautiful nature or playing in the snow.  Teach them to be grateful for the small things and the big things.

If you would like to encourage and develop a habit of gratitude, you could help your child maintain a dairy where they right down a few things every day they are thankful for:

• The weather
• Food
• Friends

Not only will your child grow up to be more connected with the world around him/her, they will be more engaged and enthusiastic.  Over time, they will realize how lucky they are and will grow up to a grateful and caring person be.

2. Listen to your child

When your child wants to talk to you, give them your undivided attention.  When they are complaining about something, do not tell them to stop talking negatively.  Instead hear them out so they do not learn to keep their emotions bottled up.  When parents acknowledge their child’s feelings, children feel understood by their parents.  Over time, your child will grow up to be communicative, happy and emotionally stable.

3. Create family rituals and create routines

Kids need routine.  When a child has a routine, they develop a sense of security and strong family connections.  This will help your child be more socially fit and increases their productivity.  Here are a few things you can do to help your child develop routine:

• Eat at regular intervals
• Set bed and bath times
• Have family vacation
• Have family meetings to discuss problems and look for solutions

These routines reinforce the importance of family and relationships, teach children to be responsible and increase their self-esteem.

4. Encourage a healthy lifestyle and body image

Showing your child how to take care of themselves physically by spending time exercising with them will not only make your kids healthy and fit, but also happy.  Exercise releases endorphins that trigger cheerful feelings.  As they grow up, they need to feel comfortable in their skin which will develop a healthy body image and their self-esteem.

5. Make a schedule for your child

Another important thing your child needs is a schedule.  Make sure that you child gets enough sleep, encourage free playtime and limit their T.V. time.  A child that does not have a set schedule falls into negative patterns that can result in fits or bad behavior.

When a child does not get enough sleep, they are like to be:

• More moody
• Less focused
• Less creative
• Have digestive issues

Having a schedule for your child not only helps them be successful throughout the day, it also helps them feel safe in their routine.

6. Teach positive behavior and coping mechanisms

It is important for your child to understand that it is okay to:

• Be sad/upset
• Express frustrations
• Not be in first place every time
• Be angry at someone
• Be wrong about somebody or something

Allow your child to express their emotions then later explain to them that all the feelings are acceptable but certain responses to those emotions are not.  Teach your child to express their emotions in a manner that is both positive and productive.  Teach them that emotions are a part of life and should be addressed and over time they will develop patience, persistence and discipline.

7. Set boundaries that are reasonable

When you are setting boundaries with your child, make sure you are being reasonable but also firm.  Parents should give firm explanation for their boundaries and be reasonable.  Setting boundaries that are too high can cause your child to feel overwhelmed or ashamed if they do not meet their expectations.  However, setting little to no boundaries with your child can cause them to become lost and cynical.

It is important to empower your child to make decisions for themselves so they feel self-confident as they grow older and make decisions for themselves.