Your children are still young, but you know that one day, they’ll be independent adults who have to make important choices for themselves, rather than relying on you to choose for them. How can you prepare them to make smart decisions in the future? You can begin by teaching them to stay safe. Furthermore, here’s how to illustrate leadership skills in action, enjoy family bonding time on walks, and demonstrate healthy habits.
Emphasize Leadership
You can start imparting leadership skills to your children at a young age. If you want your children to grow into effective leaders, you’ll need to focus on setting a good example. Kids are like sponges, and they imitate their parents – so if they see you as a model of positive leadership, they’ll be more likely to follow in your footsteps. You can go the extra mile to demonstrate integrity.
Also, you can seek out activities for your children that will give them the chance to strengthen their leadership skills. Mission Grit recommends signing your children up for activities that involve teamwork, like sports or volunteering.
Go for Regular Walks
Daily family walks can help everyone in your household enjoy better physical health and emotional well-being. If your children aren’t old enough to go for long walks, you can still enjoy walks together while they’re in the stroller!
What if you don’t live in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood? You might want to head to a community with a walk score of 70 or higher so that your family can stroll safely.
Pull Back on Caffeine Intake
Do you drink lots of caffeine throughout the day? This might seem like a minor vice, but if your children see you depending on caffeine day in and day out, they may start getting curious about trying coffee or other caffeinated beverages at a younger age. While having a cup of coffee in the morning isn’t necessarily unhealthy, drinking too much caffeine can be detrimental. Therefore, cutting back on heavily caffeinated drinks like espresso can be a good way to demonstrate healthy habits to your kids.
If your kids have already inquired about trying coffee, take this as an opportunity to explain the drawbacks of drinking too much caffeine. For instance, you can share that high caffeine consumption can result in uncomfortable side effects like anxiety and a rapid heart rate, insomnia, and even high blood pressure.
Explain “Stranger Danger”
Teaching your kids about “stranger danger” can start young. Talk to your child about who is safe to interact with, and what to do if an adult makes them feel uncomfortable. You can also explain where they can find local safe places in your community, such as public libraries.
Talk to Them About Healthcare
Obviously, children don’t spend a lot of time thinking about their healthcare coverage. As an adult, though, you need to make sure you’re covered – especially if you’re a freelancer and aren’t getting insurance through a job. So to teach your children how to be responsible in this area, let them see how you conduct your research and compare coverage and prices. This will help prepare them for similar decisions they’ll have to make for themselves down the road.
Set Basic Goals Together
It’s never too early to work with your children on basic goal-setting! Scholar Within recommends showing your children the “SMART” method for setting goals, which means defining their goals in a way that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This could mean achieving certain grades in their classes or reading a specific number of books over the summer. Together, you can make goal-setting fun!
One day, your child will have to make pivotal decisions and manage the consequences of their own choices. As a parent, preparing them for these moments is one of your most important tasks. By following these tips – from going for walks, monitoring your caffeine intake, and making sure you’re covered in terms of health insurance – you’ll pick up new methods for passing down leadership skills, scheduling daily family walks, and demonstrating the importance of healthy habits.
Looking for more parenting tips? Check out our Inspire My Tot video series for practical advice and inspiration on raising happy, healthy children. Let us know if you have any questions!
Article contributed by Jose Balasco (ParentSafetyNow.com)
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