We all want our kids to be happy and healthy. If we give them the best start in life, then they will have a fantastic chance at achieving their full potential during adulthood. So there is no wonder that many parents go all out and strive for a fantastic childhood for their children. If you have just had your very first child, you may be wondering exactly how you achieve this. Many parents just figure it out as they go along. But to make things easier for you here is our guide to how to give your child the best possible childhood.
Healthy Living
Health and happiness are like two peas in a pod. You need them both to get the most out of life. There are a couple of ways you can help your family live healthily. The best way is to eat a nutritious and well-balanced diet. There are many foods out there that can be detrimental to our health and lead to an increased risk of obesity. Foods that are high in sugars and fats are the main culprits. Try to replace these with whole foods, such as wholegrain bread and pastas and wild rice. You also need to include a healthy source of protein in all your meals. Lean meats like turkey and chicken have high levels of protein in them. And so do lentils, legumes, and pulses. Fill as much of your plate with fresh vegetables as well. Kids will be fine having not-so-healthy foods every so often as a treat. Limit them to just one day a week. If they end up becoming too regular, your kids could start to show tell-tale signs, such as an increase in weight. The other great way to lead a healthy lifestyle is to be as active as possible. Try to encourage your kids to take up sports. Not only will it help them keep in shape, but they may even discover they have a hidden talent. Sports and active hobbies will help keep your kids fit and a healthy weight. Team sports are especially great as they will give your children the chance to meet new friends and feel a sense of worth and belonging as part of a team.
A Good Education And Schooling
A good education leads to good grades, and those good grades will lead to a place at one of the country’s top universities and colleges. Studying at one of the best universities gives your kids a better chance of bagging a high-paid job once they leave. So you can see why a good education for your children is such a big deal. How do you ensure they get one? The best way is to get them into a good school. Each town and city will have a few different schools for you to choose from. However, they won’t all be as good as one another. To make sure your child secures a place in the best school, you should live in its catchment area. This is the only way you can guarantee your child will get a place. If you don’t live in that area, then you might struggle to get your kids in. Many parents are now choosing to move into their desired school’s area to set up their children for a fantastic education. The only problem with this is that there can be many families fighting over houses for sale in the area, which can push up prices. To find out how much house prices are close to your favourite school, you can discover the details from Entwistle Green.
A Close Family
Your wider family are very important to kids when they are growing up. They will be important to you and your partner as well! Family can provide you with a great support network. If you are ever unavailable to pick up your kids from nursery or school, ask a relative to help out. This teamwork and cooperation will set a great example for your children. But it is also important for your kids to grow up around their extended family. This can help them become more sociable and help them come out of their shells. Young children can be quite shy, but if they are around lots of different people from a young age, they will eventually shake off their shyness. And family should always stick together throughout life. Teaching your kids this key life lesson from a very young age can encourage them to grow up and be loving and respectful to all of their relatives.
Encourage Friendships
As well as family, your children will also need friends throughout their life. Like many people often say, friends are the family we choose for ourselves! Your child will be able to pick his or her own friends and can make some very impressionable connections from a very young age. It can help if you encourage this to happen. If a relative or friend has a child the same age as yours, invite them over for a playdate. You should also help your child be active when making friends at school and nursery. Tell him or her that they can invite their friends over for one dinner one weeknight. Or see if they want to have a slumber party. Some of the friends we make during childhood can last us an entire lifetime. So it is best for children to start making these social connections as early as possible.
Financial Security
Another great way to set your kids up for the future is to ensure their financial security. Possibly the best way to do this is to start saving for their future. As soon as a child is born, many parents open a new bank account in their baby’s name. They then deposit a set amount of money into it either every week or every month. It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford a lot of money for this – every little counts, so even just £5 per month can make a big difference. If you do this every month until your child is 21, they will have around £1,200 which they can put towards a house deposit or university tuition. Of course, there are other ways you can help to increase your children’s nest eggs. Rather than putting the savings into a regular bank account, think about saving them in an ISA. This is a great way to keep the taxman away from the money, so you will be able to save more for your kids.
Good Manners
As your kids are growing up, teach them the importance of being polite and manners. You should teach your children polite words from an early age. For example, they need to know the importance of saying please and thank you. When children are very young, they won’t understand why some bad habits are considered rude. The earlier you can start teaching them, the quicker they will be able to fall into better habits. One of the easiest ways to train your child in good manners is to set a good example. If they see you behaving politely, then they are much more likely to do as you say. One important aspect of good manners is cleanliness. You’ll need to teach your child that it is incredibly impolite for them to pick their nose in public and many other dirty habits. When it comes to good manners, make sure your child learns them at an earlier age. It can be difficult to change their behaviour and attitude once they are older.
Be Disciplined
Discipline is the best way you can teach your children the difference between acceptable and unacceptable. If they do something that is naughty or wrong, they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. If they do, it will only encourage them to do wrong again. However, when you are disciplining your children, it is also important to not be too harsh on them. The punishment should match the crime. It is also important for children to understand boundaries so that they understand if they go too far with their behaviour. Be clear about the boundaries that you set and give children fair warnings if they start to push them. Many parents struggle with punishing their children, and it can be all too easy to turn soft and spoil your children. However, fair and consistent discipline is important if you want your children to grow up into well-balanced adults.
Get A Pet
Pets are a great tool to help teach kids about responsibility and caring for others. If you have young kids, start off small with something small like a hamster or gerbil. You should allocate small jobs to your children, such as cleaning out the cage each week. Through doing this, they will learn how to look after another living being. It will also teach them about the need for responsibility. Many parents decide to get a pet to help kids learn about death as many small rodents only live for a couple of years.
I love this so much. I think because we are friends on FB, I get a little behind the scenes peek into your life and you are one awesome mama. It’s so obvious how present you are in their lives and how much you love them.
This is such a great list. I wish every family was able to implement these into raising their children, they are our greatest responsibility and investment. Thanks for sharing.
These are definitely all important ways to give your kids a great childhood. I tried to do all of these for my kids.
These are all great ways to make sure your child has a great childhood. I did all of these aside from having a pet. I am allergic to anything with fur.
We are switching schools this year. It was a hard decision, but I know it’s the right one. The stress of it has impacted my kids’ lives & I’m ready for us all to have a fresh start.
I absolutely adore this! I see less and less of ALL of this happening with today’s kids. It’s really sad.
Wonderful things we all want for our children. Thanks for the helpful reminder.
These are all great suggestions and it’s easy to see how each of them could add value to a child’s life. I like to think we have all of these areas covered in our family.
I agree with all of the above. Having four children, saving for their future is the toughest.
What a great post, all of these things are important to give child their childhood! Thanks for sharing!
These are all important in raising a healthy person. This is a great post.
Very nice list! I always wanted to have my child the best childhood that he can have.
This is such a lovely post. I love that it’s not just about lists of things to do but building happiness and character too.
You have shared some great suggestions. I hope that my children are having the best childhood possible. I want to do all that I can to ensure that.
Healthy living is definitely at the top of my list. Having a close family is also very important to me.
Great ideas! These are great suggestions on how ou live your life, thanks for sharing.
all of these are so important and necessary. I am so glad you put to encourage good friendships. What a great thing to learn at an early age.
Healthy living is top notch. Some of the other things, like financial, will be determined by the parents own financial situation and sometimes those things just can’t be helped.
Such a great list and ideas so glad that you share this with us