As wonderful as it would be to wake up one day with a whole slew of great habits already built into our day to day life, it unfortunately doesn't work out that way. We have to cultivate good habits, routines, and mindsets with our daily actions, and it’s not always easy, especially the older and busier we get!
Creating an ingrained habit of sticking to your goals and seeing them through, or an attitude of gratitude, or prioritizing health over quick and easy, needs to start as early as childhood.
When we can set up our children with healthy lifelong habits that will serve them well and teach them the value of being present and intentional with their days and lives, we are offering them so much.
Check out a few tips below for fostering healthy habits in your child’s life this year. The earlier you can implement a few of these ideas into your family, the better - for everyone!
Make Habit Keeping a Game
- Use a piece of paper (or our habit tracker!) to keep track of how many water bottles/servings of veggies/homework pages/etc. they finish. If they can complete "X" they win a treat! This is a great lesson in the "don’t-break-the-chain” theory of habit building. Once they start to see progress in the form of [stickers, coins, tally marks/etc.], they’ll be more excited to complete that habit each day.
Daily Journaling at Night:
- A night routine is game-changing for us all, but you don’t have to get too complicated with this one. Adding in one intentional part to your kids’ hectic nighttime routine can be impactful enough.
- Right before reading a story, after brushing teeth, or whatever else is already a part of your kids’ bedtime routine, implement a short journaling session. This helps them wind down and start connecting with their day to day, rather than rushing through.
- We created our new Kids Journals for this very reason. With a simple layout, space for gratitude, and a section for acts of kindness, this journal is a perfect, *simple* way to encourage healthy habits and selfless thinking.
Habit Stacking:
- Habit stacking is scientifically proven and beneficial for all ages. Essentially, habit tracking is using your already-stable habits to create new healthy habits by building the habits on top of each other. You can learn more about Habit Stacking here. For example, when they get dressed for the day, begin making their bed directly after.
Spend Time Outside Each Day:
- We all know how important spending time outside is, but this especially rings true for those energetic kiddos! Try setting a new rule in the winter when the sun goes down SO early (!!) Make it so your kids can’t have any screen time unless they’ve played outside for at least 10 minutes! Even if it’s snowing or raining or cold, encourage them to enjoy the beauty of nature and PLAY.
Use ‘car time’ intentionally:
- As terrible as it may sound, we encourage you to use the time you have your kids strapped down in one place in your favor! 😂 Whether it’s a short prayer or gratitude list on the way to school in the morning, or asking thought-provoking questions on the way to the grocery store, the car is a great place to peek into those incredible little brains with no distractions.
- This is one of our favorite ways to instill intentional habits and build genuine connection. If you encourage and build this routine, your little ones will begin to search for things to be grateful for and might even start holding you accountable for this routine.
We hope this gives you some inspiration for creating healthy habits in your kids’ lives. We truly believe incorporating even just one of these routines can be life-changing for your kids, and you!
Sending you all of the good habit vibes as you enter 2023!