Developing good habits can be really hard especially when you're trying to impose new healthy habits onto your family when they haven't lived this way before. In our overweight society, it's important to teach children good, healthy habits early, so they won't have to struggle to learn them after they've developed health issues or become overweight. If you start them out with good habits while they're young, they'll take them throughout their lives and into adulthood, and that's when they'll thank you for it.

Nobody wants their kids to turn out to be couch potatoes, so don't let them start out those habits when they're young. Monitor the amount of time they spend in front of the TV. Perhaps you could institute a plan where they earn up to 4 hours of TV each week by time spent reading or doing work around the house. Reading is important in our society and if you read to them when they're young they're going to learn to like it. Encourage your kids to get outside when the weather is good. Instead of always buying video games for gifts, get them toys that can be used outdoors, like scooters, roller blades, or bikes. It is also good to regularly take them to a park. Your kids will love this and they'll have a chance to meet other kids doing what you want them to do - Playing Outdoors and using energy. Another thing that youngsters will like besides exercise is good food. They're going to eat what you offer them, so if you don't create appetites for rich or fast foods, they won't crave those things. Keep them away from sugar and always offer fruit. I've seen children who thought cherry tomatoes were a treat! Don't limit the amount of food they eat in a day, but give them healthy choices so they can develop tastes for things that are good for them. If a kid grows up on junk food, that's what they'll gravitate towards. Too much sugar and fast food leads to obesity in children. And kids are too young to be dealing with these types of health issues on top of everything else they have to go through.

As your kids are growing up, take them to the gym with you and put them in the daycare center there. They'll see that you're working out and will ask questions. Exercise will become a natural part of life. Schedule family bike rides, hikes, or other outdoor events that everyone will enjoy. If there's outdoor work to be done, treat it the same as the indoor work and have everyone work together. This will build strong family ties as well as foster an active lifestyle. As your kids get older, find sports the family is interested in and play them together. Encourage your children to get on sports teams at school and play with them at home. Teaching your children to exercise doesn't have to be teaching at all if it's just part of how you interact as a family. This is the key to raising active, healthy adults who aren't having to worry about finding every fad diet to stay slim. They'll already know how to look and feel healthy.