With three little ones running around, our summer has been incredibly busy! Frankly, I’m looking forward to the first day of school in a couple of weeks here. During these hot summer days, though, it’s easy to let the kids just lay around and it’s even easier to cop out on snacks and lunches. So here are my top three tips on how to keep your kids healthy during what’s left of these summer months.
Mandatory Outside Time
Studies show that children need to engage in physical activity for at least one hour each day. As such, we make sure that our kids are playing outside for at least that much time. Typically, I kick them out of the house while I am preparing dinner. That’s when they are the loudest and most rambunctious. At that point, we all need a break! They go out for about 30 minutes, come in for dinner, and then, after we clean up dishes, we all go out to play for another 30 minutes. That gives the adults 30 minutes of exercise a day as well. Fun for the whole healthy family!
One Healthy Snack Each Day
Preparing three meals and two snacks each day for three hungry kids takes a lot of time. For me, it’s pretty easy to rely on nuggets, fries, hot dogs, chips, cookies, etc. for lunches and snacks during the summer months. Breakfast and dinner are usually pretty healthy, but to make up for the ease of lunches and snacks, I make sure that at least one of those snacks is healthy, consisting of fresh fruit or vegetables, cut up into kid-sized pieces. It’s a great, easy way to make sure that they are eating healthy!
Limit the TV Watching
Over the summer months, it is important to make sure that the kids brains don’t shut off. I love TV and will typically keep it running with the news or something like that as background. The kids don’t always understand that the TV can run while you’re not watching it. Making sure that TV is off for part of the day encourages the kids read, play games, or otherwise engage their minds. This ensures that their cognitive and mental health grow while they stay physically healthy.