Ways to Help Your Teens Develop Healthy Habits

Let’s face it; Develop healthy habits are essential for a successful and happy life. As a parent, you are not only responsible for passing good genes to your kids. You must also try your best to ensure your children incorporate healthy habits into their lives.

The truth is that it’s not that difficult to teach and instruct little kids about healthy habits; however, guiding teenagers towards a healthy lifestyle requires a little more effort.

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes adolescence as the stage of life between childhood and adulthood; the age usually ranges from 10 to 19. Therefore, your teen will experience many physiological, psychological, and emotional changes during this stage. Unfortunately, these are also when most teens want independence and wish to live a fun-filled life. Yet, this is the ideal age to shape your teen into their best self and help them become healthy and responsible adults when they grow.

Ways to Help Your Teens Develop Healthy Habits

Thus, you can express your care for your teen and encourage them to develop healthy habits by keeping the following suggestions in mind:

Help eliminate poor choices

The first step in developing healthy habits in your teen is to help them eliminate poor choices. For instance, does your teen smoke or consume drugs or alcohol way too much that you might fear they might become addicted?

Teenagers frequently try drugs, at first, out of peer pressure. However, later they continue to seek euphoria or solace from their worries. While it is true that many teenagers experiment with drugs, some might end up with a substance addiction that lasts into adulthood.

Of course, being a parent, seeing your teen becoming addicted is distressing. Yet, the good thing is that addiction is a treatable medical issue. And just like with any other medical condition, you must treat it seriously. You can check delphihealthgroup.com to stay informed about types of addiction, different treatment options, etc., so you can make well-informed decisions about your teen.

Make eating healthy foods a priority

As children start hitting puberty, they frequently feel hungry and eat more. That’s because, during the adolescent years, their bodies need the energy to function and grow. And calories from a nutritious diet give them the energy and boost to get through the day and keep their immune system strong.

Moreover, as your teen grows, you may observe their taste and preferences also change regarding the foods and drinks. For example, there is a high possibility that your teen may frequently start eating more fatty and sugary foods and less fruit and vegetable. However, a proper diet is essential to maintain good health. Thus, encourage your teen to consume proteins, carbs, vitamin D, iron, calcium, and fiber in a well-balanced ratio.

Set a perfect eating routine

Does your teen have a habit of skipping meals, more specifically breakfast? That might not be wise. Developing a healthy habit is one thing, but establishing a robust routine for your teen so they don’t skip a meal is another story.

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It is more probable that your teen will continue this healthy habit as adults if you establish a routine of regular mealtimes for them when they are young. Therefore, set up a pattern of breakfast-lunch-dinner for your teen. It is the best way to help them avoid unhealthy snacks or junk food consumption throughout the day.

One best way is by teaching your teen that a healthy breakfast can do wonders to their body. For instance, it keeps the brain healthy and helps avoid chronic illnesses.

Encourage good hygiene

Teenagers frequently blow off critical daily tasks since they perceive them as boring and pointless.

Even though as a toddler, you must have taught your kid to brush properly, floss their teeth, and wash their face. And they must also have been following the morning and nighttime practices by themselves as they grew over the years. However, unfortunately, they might become lazy once they reach adolescence.

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If such is the case, don’t be afraid to encourage your teens to practice good hygiene daily. Good hygiene includes bathing regularly, washing hands, clipping nails, wearing clean clothes, brushing hair, brushing and flossing teeth, and more. Not doing so can result in dental, skin, or other health issues.

Promote physical activity

You can’t help your teen develop a healthy lifestyle without encouraging them to be physically active. Put this way, the more physically active your teen is, the lesser chance they will become obese or lead a sedentary life. So ensure physical activity is a part of their daily routine.

Encourage your teen to do some physical activity for at least 30 minutes daily. It could include walking, jogging, swimming, riding a bike, playing their favorite sports, etc. Be sure to find an activity they enjoy so they don’t get bored. Staying active can help them keep their body in good shape and muscles healthy.

Remember to tell your teen not to overexert themselves since you don’t want them to get injured. Instead, ask them to pay attention to their bodies so they know when to quit when anything hurts.

Help manage sleeping routine

Lastly, good quality sleep is essential for adolescents.
Teenagers are infamous for lacking adequate sleep. However, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the recommended sleeping hours for teenagers aged 13 to 18 years is 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours.

Teenagers don’t sleep enough for various reasons, including hectic study schedules, screen time, social factors, sleep disorders, etc. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation can cause different physical and mental health issues, moodiness, poor athletic performance, etc.

You can encourage your teen to get a good night’s sleep in multiple ways. For instance, establishing a regular sleeping schedule, getting sunlight exposure, limiting screen time before bedtime, providing a comfortable bed, not allowing oversleeping, etc.

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