We decided to share this post as many of our clients and friends asking for tips on how to raise happy and healthy children. Plus, it’s been a while since we shared our kid’s pictures on public social media platforms.
Meet Odysseas (14) and Athina (11) our bundle of joy, happiness, and hard work. We are very lucky as a couple to share similar life and family values, so we never found ourselves arguing on the above. However, the path of raising them still brought challenges from outside and below we put together a few fundamental principles on how to nurture your teens.
Happiness and wellbeing are related, but they’re not the same thing. Pre-teens and teenagers can be happy because of some of the things that make up wellbeing, but they don’t need all these things to be happy. Praise, encouragement, and positive attention let your child know that you value them, their good deeds and their contribution to your life.
– Rules and boundaries – Clear and fair rules help pre-teens and teenagers feel safe when a lot of things in their lives are changing. If you involve your child in making the rules, they’ll be more likely to stick to them.
– Negotiating rules with your child is also a way of showing that you respect your child’s growing maturity.
– Healthy lifestyle. Encourage good sleep habits: pre-teens need 9-11 hours of sleep, and teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep a night. It’s best for your child to avoid digital technology use the hour before bedtime.
– Help your child aim for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day.
– Encourage your child to make healthy food choices to fuel their growth and development.
– Help your child keep a healthy balance between study, work and play. This might mean looking at how many nights your child is out doing things, how much downtime your child has, how much your child can contribute to family life through chores, how many family meals you have together and so on.
– Family relationships. Share and make memories together. Make time to talk about individual and family successes. Establish and maintain family rituals.
Good luck applying some or all of the above tips… :0)
Making sense of all the contributing factors around teens’ wellness can be overwhelming and frustrating, especially when you’re trying everything, but nothing seems to make a difference. That’s where we come in. Book a call with us today at 0207 293 0440 and let’s talk. The first step today by booking your free 30-minute Health and Energy Review, so we can talk about your health concerns.
