In today’s era, it’s difficult to get our children away from the television, laptops, video games, tablets, cell phones, and more electronic devices! We don’t want them to have a sedentary lifestyle at a young age and grow up being couch potatoes. For a tween girl, it’s really important to adopt a healthy lifestyle now as she will continue to adopt it throughout her adult life and beyond. She needs to maintain a healthy lifestyle by exercising, eating healthy foods, and having a healthy body image in order to be a well balanced teen; mind, body, and soul!
Exercise
Regular exercise is key to maintaining a healthy weight. A tween/teen should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Of course for her keep up with the activities, she will need to find something that she likes and having a friend or two to join also helps to motivate her to do them regularly and are more enjoyable. Activities can be any sports, swimming, running, yoga,etc. She doesn’t have to do it all at once, but as long as she exercises throughout the day, it’s all good! If she also has role model as parents that incorporate exercising or sports into their routine, this will help her see that you preach what you say.
Healthy Eating Habits
It’s so easy to open the cupboards and grab cookies and sweets! Teenagers will eat what is the closest to their reach and what takes the less effort to make. Coming from school, they are often in a rush to finish their homework and get going to their activities or part-time job. Purchase foods that are rich in protein such as almonds, hummus, and Greek yogurt, low in sugar, as well as plenty of veggies and fruits. Make sure they eat a variety of food and not the same food every day, and from all different food groups. Reminding your daughter of which items are in the refrigerator or cupboards that they can eat for snacks help them remember what is good for them to eat. Preparing an appetizing veggies and cheese tray with a low-fat dip will entice her to indulge in healthy food versus a sweeter snack. Also teaching your tween daughter how to cook healthy foods is one way to make good nutrition habits a lot more interesting.
Healthy Body Image
The most important part of your daughter’s self-esteem is for her to feel comfortable with her growing body. Some girls have a quest to have a perfect body and to be physically attractive. If they do not achieve their desired look or weight, they might feel ashamed of their bodies and start skipping meals to lose weight or be depressed. Your daughter needs to understand that gaining weight is normal during puberty. Take some time to talk with her about self-image and reassure her that, as women, we have many different body shapes and they are all beautiful! The key is to encourage your daughter to concentrate on eating a healthy diet and staying physically active, not for her looks, but for her health.
For additional information to give your daughter the tools she needs to feel good about herself and her body, please check BeingGirl.com and some of these articles:
Fitness: 7 Small Steps For a Healthy Lifestyle and Healthy Routine
Although this post has been generously sponsored by Always, the opinions and language are all my own, and in no way do they reflect Always.