7 Tips to Keep Your Family Healthy While at Home

As parents, we lead the way and kids are known to mimic our behavior. Encourage healthy lifestyle habits early and stick with them as your family grows.

Keep healthy food choices readily available at home. Your family is more likely to eat fruits and veggies when they’re in sight than those high fat snacks.

1. Keep It Clean

Keeping the house clean can help keep your family healthy while at home. Bacteria, dust and other allergens can build up in dirty environments. These can make symptoms worse for those suffering from allergies, asthma and other respiratory conditions.

Teach your family members to wash their hands regularly and practice good health habits, such as sneezing into a tissue or their elbow rather than their hand. Throwing away dirty tissues promptly can also cut down on germ transmission.

Encourage your family to exercise together by putting movement into the daily routine, like dancing in front of the TV or doing jumping jacks during commercial breaks.

2. Wash Your Hands Regularly

Hand hygiene is a crucial line of defence against germs. Make sure your family is washing their hands regularly, particularly after going to the toilet, before eating, and after touching common surfaces in public places. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content.

Encourage your kids to wash their hands at school and at friends’ homes, too. By establishing healthy habits at home, your children will be more likely to carry them on throughout their lives. Throw away used tissues and Clorox wipes – they can spread germs.

3. Take Technology Breaks

While it is a great way to stay connected, technology can also cause family members to miss out on important social interactions. Taking breaks from your phone, tablet and computer can help everyone focus on each other and encourage deeper, more meaningful conversations.

Keeping your home clean, washing hands frequently and limiting your time spent with electronic devices can help you stay healthy while at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. While it’s impossible to avoid all germs, keeping your family healthy while at home is easier than you might think.

4. Schedule Regular Health Check-Ups

As many schools and work locations have closed, families are having to improvise when it comes to their daily routines. With gyms and school athletics canceled, healthy exercise becomes difficult to maintain; family meals around the table become rare; and cabin fever begins to set in.

Scheduling regular health checkups at NYC medical clinics can help your family stay on track with their healthy lifestyle goals. Even if you feel like your family is in tip-top shape, these appointments can help catch early warning signs of illness, and decrease the need for time-consuming (and costly) treatments.

5. Eat Healthy Meals at the Table

A well-balanced diet that includes a mix of proteins, fruits and vegetables can help strengthen family members’ immunity. Make a meal plan and grocery shop weekly to avoid food waste and keep family meals on track.

Encourage the whole family to eat at the table, even if it’s just one or two nights a week. Rose says bringing everyone together over healthy meals can foster positive communication and create a sense of community.

It may be challenging to get the gang around the table when they’re so engrossed in their digital devices, but it’s worth trying. Getting kids involved in meal preparation also helps them learn about healthy eating and healthy habits.

6. Be Active Together

A healthy lifestyle is essential for the whole family. Getting kids into good habits early can make it easier to stick with those habits throughout their adult lives.

Exercise is a vital part of staying healthy. Try making it a family goal to get in some physical activity each day. Whether it’s going for a walk after dinner or shooting baskets together, physical activity can help boost your family’s health.

You can also encourage your children to be active by signing them up for a sports team or encouraging them to take up a sport themselves.

7. Have Fun!

When it comes to family fun, the key is finding activities that encourage the family to bond. Try playing games together or having an arts and crafts session. Make sure you are giving hugs and kisses at the right times too.

Don’t let food become a source of conflict at your house. Instead of bargaining and bribing kids to clean their plates, focus on offering a variety of healthy foods.

Family meals provide a great opportunity to introduce new foods to kids, and to be a model of healthy eating for the whole family. Stock your pantry with healthy foods so that you are ready to cook whenever you have the time.