Well, you know at RAFCO Clean we are in fact…The Clean Freaks!! Maybe not the originals but darn close. Another freaky thing about us is that we are very health conscious because healthiness is very dependent on…cleanliness!
Just a few days ago we ran into an article about healthy habits to teach your kids. We liked it so much we decided to share several points from that article that we believe would be helpful for all of us. Sure, the first point is about washing hands, duh! But no doubt you will pick up a nugget that will help your family stay healthy Read on!
Teach good handwashing habits.
It’s not just about washing one’s hands. Too often, teachers see kids rubbing their hands for a few seconds under cold water. Handwashing should use warm water, for about 20 seconds, with foaming soap. Time it by singing a song or telling a story, and encourage handwashing at many different points of the day.
Don’t skip breakfast.
It’s the most important meal of the day, but so many kids skip out. Invest your time and grocery money in planning breakfast.
Teach them to sneeze into their sleeve.
This is a healthy habit to avoid the spread of sickness. The “sleeve sneeze” prevents the spread of mucus and germs much more than an uncovered sneeze or a sneeze into one’s hands.
Eliminate soda.
Soda makes a great cleaning agent, as it turns out, but it’s not so great for young stomachs. The sugar alone is cause for concern, but there’s a great deal of bad stuff in soda that bodies both young and old carry around for a long time. Try your best to replace sugary beverages with water.
Go outside and play.
Adults treat exercise like a chore because it is, for us. But kids need to have fun when they exercise. Get outside with your kids, and be sure to encourage them to have fun. Throw a Frisbee or ball around. You may even find yourself having fun, too!
Teach kids to read food labels.
Ask for their help at the grocery store. Which cookie, drink, or treat is healthier than the other option, and why? Show them how to compare sodium, fat, trans fat, dietary needs, and everything else on those nutrition labels.
Cut off screen time at least an hour before bed.
It’s much harder to get to sleep when you’ve recently looked at a screen, so turn off your TV, tablets, phones, and computers before going to bed.
Eat colorful foods.
The people who design cereal know that colorful, rainbow-colored food always get kids jazzed. Instead of offering up sugar-flavored corn, give them colorful fruits and vegetables to get excited about. When shopping, you can encourage them to find every color of the rainbow!
Keep things positive.
Don’t let bullies or, worse, yourself let them feel bad about their bodies. When people exercise, they’re often made fun of. Give them positivity and encourage them to respect and love themselves.
Don’t use unhealthy things as a reward for good behavior.
If every time you want to reward a behavior, you do so with sugary snacks, lazy screen time, and unhealthy behaviors, then how will they find the good behaviors rewarding?
Take care of yourself.
Be a good role model for your kids and they’ll want to do what you do.
Did you know 1/3 third of all American children are obese or overweight. And 1/3 of people born 2000 or after will at some point in their lives suffer from diabetes? And this affects everyone! While most of us reading this article don’t fall in this category, our kids do and will. At RAFCO Properties we wish everybody a clean and healthy life, to enjoy for years to come.
We’d like to thank Busy Bee Cleaning in New York for creating this great list of healthy living elements for kids. We thought they were important to share with everyone we know.