Monkey See, Monkey Do

Children are watching us all the time.

The majority of kids who come along to PT with their Mums have at one stage or another, without prompting, done a push up, a burpee, run on the treadmill or a lap of the driveway…. and the list goes on! If they watch you from a young enough age, they will see fitness as being part of our every day life – which it absolutely should be! And if you continue to set a great example throughout their childhood, then you’re setting your kids up for an active and healthy way of life. They won’t know any different.

The same goes for nutritious food. If you aren’t eating well, then what example are you setting your kids? Don’t expect them to eat all their vegetables if they see that you don’t eat yours. We need to always be setting good examples. Yes they will still want junk from time to time, and in my opinion, that’s ok…. As long as they understand that it’s a special treat that they only have once in a while. They should only see you have it once in a while too!!

And of course remember we need to emphasis that our great habits are for good HEALTH, and not so we don’t ‘get fat.’ It can be a fine line sometimes between encouraging healthy habits and indirectly causing kids to have body-image issues. There’s enough pressure in society to have a ‘prefect’ body, we need to make sure that’s never the goal when we’re encouraging kids to eat well and be active.

Oh one more thing while I’m on about setting a good example, not fitness related, but so many kids these days don’t seem to have any manners!! Again, that starts with us adults!! I LOVE kids with nice manners, and I always try to compliment them (and their parents) when they use them!! (wow, am I getting old??!)

So make sure kids are seeing the really important things you do, regularly! They are taking on board more than we sometimes realise!!

Have a great day! Eat well, be active! (and use your manners haha!!)

Paula