Health during quarantine: It’s a Family Affair!
Quarantine has been a lot of together time. We are all enjoying spending a little more time with our families, roommates, siblings, parents and children. Alternatively, they also say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…. All jokes aside, homeschooling, exercising regularly and preparing 3 healthy meals a day for you and your family is no joke. This isn’t easy! If you’ve been struggling to balance everything, be gentle with yourself. You are not alone and this time is temporary. That being said, we have a few tips to make things a little easier and more fun! Getting the whole family involved can make a fun activity out of a chore.
Family walks
Getting 10k steps a day became a luxury overnight. We know how valuable fresh air and movement is, but getting in your lunchtime walk isn’t so easy when the kids need help with homeschooling at the same time. Try going together! You may not go as far or as quickly as you would on your own, but you’ll still rack up some steps and get the blood flowing while getting some exercise for the whole family. Even 20 minutes around the block counts!
Play outside
The weather is finally rounding the bend for warm temperatures, thank goodness! Nothing like some good old tag to get the whole family moving. Seriously, the activity that kids get from playing outside is underrated. Join in for 5 minutes and you’ll get that heart rate up no problem. Your kid might even be a better coach than your favorite personal trainer on Instagram live.
Family yoga
If you search kids or family yoga online, you will get millions of results in less than a second. These can be a great way for the whole family to practice mindfulness together. It teaches kids about yoga, gentle movement, and taking care of themselves while (theoretically) bringing a few minutes of quiet time with it. We’re all sitting a little bit more lately, so a nice stretch will do wonders. Bonus points for doing it together!
Have a picnic lunch
It can be really easy to mindlessly eat something quick for lunch between meetings. Oftentimes, we don’t even taste it! We get our kids something to eat first and then take our plate back to wherever your home office may be. This can easily take the experience and joy away from eating. A fun solution to this is to have a picnic lunch with the kids in the yard. Have the kids help plan the “menu” and use it as an opportunity to enjoy some fruits and veggies in the sun! The easiest “on the go” foods are often those with minimal packaging (even if the destination is the yard) – whole foods, just as they are.
Eat the rainbow
…and I’m not talking about Skittles. We’ve heard of counting calories or counting macros, but how about counting colors? Try including every color of the rainbow in fruits and vegetables. This is a great way to get your kids thinking about nutrition because it makes it fun! Oftentimes, there is more brown on our plates than anything else. Challenge yourself and the whole family to get one of every color every day.
Chef’s choice
We all know that kids can be picky. It can be so frustrating to prepare a nice dinner for your family and have your kids refuse to eat it. Kids are much more likely to actually eat something if they help prepare it. Try having your kids pick one night a week that they get to help make dinner. Let them help choose what to make and do it together! The only rule: at least one veggie must be included! This is a great way to get your kids in the kitchen and get them started early with some valuable cooking skills.
Try some of these out and let us know how it goes! This is such a tricky time and we are always here to help.
Looking for more ways to get creative with your time as a family? Schedule some time with Shelagh to talk about reaching your wellness goals! REMEMBER, VISITS WITH A REGISTERED DIETITIAN ARE COVERED BY MOST INSURANCE CARRIERS FOR IN-PERSON AND TELE-HEALTH VISITS. ASK US A QUESTION OR REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT TO LEARN MORE!
