With 2018 just around the corner, it’s time to reflect on the past year and start planning for the next year. It’s a great time to start thinking about some resolutions for the coming year that will improve your family’s health and wellbeing. It’s a lot of fun to get the whole family involved in coming up with some New Year’s resolutions that will benefit your health in the coming year. If you’re having a tough time getting the kids on board with your healthy living goals, here’s a look at some great New Year’s resolutions that your kids can probably get behind.
Resolution #1 – We’ll Prepare Dinner Together as a Family One Night a Week
Eating healthy isn’t just important for weight management and overall health maintenance, it’s important for your dental health as well. Poor nutrition can affect your immune system, making you more susceptible to various oral health problems, such as gum disease. Instead of ordering out, make a resolution to prepare a healthy dinner together as a family at least one night a week. If you have a tough time getting your kids to eat healthy fare, getting them involved in the preparation of the food can help. They’ll enjoy getting a chance to eat foods they helped make. You’ll start building some better eating habits and you’ll get in more time together as a family.
Resolution #2 – We’ll Add Mouth-Friendly Snacks to the Daily Routine
One of the biggest enemies of healthy teeth is snacks packed with sugar, so you may want to make a resolution to add mouth-friendly snacks to the daily routine this coming year. Kids can always get behind snacks, and you can come up with some fun, healthy snack ideas for kids. Cut veggies and fruits into fun shapes that kids will enjoy eating. Let kids get creative with their snacking as long as they are using healthy ingredients. Be sure to watch out for some of those gummy fruity snacks. They only look healthy. They’re often packed with sugar and they stick to teeth, making them even worse for your kids’ oral health. Make picking healthy more fun by taking kids shopping with you, letting them pick out their favorite snacks, as long as they are healthy choices and not laden with sugar.
Resolution #3 – We’ll Get Involved with a Fun Sport
Staying active is important to your overall health, and it’s easy for kids to get stuck in a rut of watching television and playing video games, which doesn’t improve their health. Make a resolution for everyone in the family to get involved with a fun sport this coming year. You can all get involved in the same sport or everyone can choose a sport that they want to try for fun. It offers a great way for kids to interact with other kids and learn about being part of a team, too. Kids will love having fun playing sports. Just remember to make sure they’re outfitted with a good mouth guard from your dentist to keep their teeth protected while they’re playing sports.
Resolution #4 – We’ll Have a Family Brush-a-Long Every Night
If you happen to have smaller children, the struggle is real when it comes to getting them to brush their teeth before they head to bed. Not only is it often tough to get them to brush, it’s even more difficult to make sure they are brushing their teeth long enough. Resolve to have a family brush-a-long every night this year. Instead of a sing-a-long, crank up your kids’ favorite tunes and have everyone brush along with the music. You can even add some dance to the mix for even more fun. Mom and dad should be involved, too. With everyone in on the action, you’ll turn that nightly struggle into something fun you do as a family, and kids are sure to get behind this resolution when they get a chance to pick the tune for the nightly brush-a-long.
With a few great resolutions, you can work on improving your family’s overall health and oral health in the coming year. Get together with the kids and talk about these resolutions. They’ll be fun for everyone and they’ll ensure you enjoy a healthier smile in the coming year.
