Spring is a great time of year to think about your family’s habits and what you can do to keep your kids healthy. The weather is getting better in most areas, and even when it’s bad you can think about what you would like to do as a family to build better habits.

Gardening

Whether you’re in a home or an apartment, gardening can be a fun, healthy habit. If you aren’t into digging in the yard or don’t have one, you can plant herbs and maybe some tomatoes in containers.

Growing your own herbs or other foods can encourage a lot of healthy habits. My kids love to nibble on freshly picked basil leaves and mint leaves, for example. They also add a great flavor to your cooking.

Get Outdoors

Turn off the TV and the computer and play or exercise as a family outdoors. A walk around the block is a wonderful family activity you can do in most areas. Alternatively you can go to a park or play in your own yard together.

Play Indoors

No, not on the computer. Not video games. Well, maybe some of the more active video games; the Wii Fit; does have some good points when you’re trying to be healthy and active.

Then again, you can make room for the kids to dance. Younger kids in particular will love this. A bit of music and some encouragement and they’re off.

Creative play is fun too, especially for the younger children. Help them build a fort. Put on a puppet show. Encourage silliness.

Don’t Forget the Chores

Yeah, no fun and sometimes hard to enforce, but chores are good for the entire family. It helps to keep your home functioning and clean. Even very young children can help. The sooner you get started the more of a habit it will become for everyone.

If you’re having trouble getting anyone to do chores, consider a chore chart or other motivation. My kids love their magnetic chore charts, and we set rewards for accomplishing their chores on a weekly basis. It’s still possible to slip up and start ignoring the charts, but once you have the habit they’re quite helpful. Or you can consider alternatives that work better for your family.

Walk to School

At least where possible. I live within blocks of my daughter’s school, and due to the traffic involved, walking can actually be faster than driving there. It’s just about a 7 minute walk by myself, 10 with kids.

If it’s too far to walk, it may not be too far for riding bicycles with kids who are old enough. Schools in my area only allow that for grade 3 and up. You’ll save gas and get a nice bit of exercise.

Walking to school can also be a great time to have a conversation with your kids. They don’t have to be on any big topics, just whatever comes to mind.

Keeping your family active and cutting back on the TV and computer habits can help you to enjoy your time together more. Certainly there will be times that you need a break from doing things together, but overall it’s a good way to make special time together on a regular basis.

When you’re home with the kids all day, they get to know all your habits, good and bad. Children are very observant and even if you think you’re pretty sneaky about some of your bad habits, they probably know about them.

Sure, you try some of those foods that you really don’t like but want your children to experience. I do that when it’s something my husband likes but I don’t. It can be challenging at times, and some of my food preferences my kids do know about, but I do the best I can.

And while there are ways you can sneak vegetables into your children’s food, better yet is to teach them how to enjoy them. You may find only a few at first that the kids like to eat, but it’s a start. It doesn’t matter if they only want to eat frozen corn or peas, they’re vegetables and a much better part of a snack or meal than many other foods. If you’re dealing with a picky eater you take what you can get and set the example for something better.

Some of what you can do may be very subtle. Things like using olive oil instead of vegetable oil in cooking so that you’re using a healthier kind of oil when you need it. Young children won’t get it. But as they learn to cook it will be something to talk about.

Being healthy is about more than teaching good eating habits, of course. Healthy eating matters quite a bit, but so does exercise and making other good choices.

In our family, formal exercise isn’t really a priority. However, we’re currently taking daily walks. We found some hiking trails just a couple blocks from our house. The kids enjoy them even more than the local playgrounds. We all come home dusty and a bit tired from these hikes, but we’re all getting exercise just as a matter of routine and the kids are learning about nature.

Now if I could just convince my son that they are “ladybugs” and not “potato bugs!”

The idea is to just make physical activity routine. We set the expectation and try to live up to it ourselves. We don’t do everything we expect of the kids; they’re often sent out to play in the back yard while I work on my computer. They learn to spend time away from any electronic entertainment and I get peace and quiet to work.

Your own bad habits can be a bit of a challenge. I can explain away my computer time because it’s necessary to how I earn a living. But actual bad habits can be more problematic.

Think about any parents you know who smoke. It’s much less common than it used to be; I don’t think any of my close mom friends smoke at all. But if you have a bad habit such as smoking or even biting your nails, children do notice and it’s harder to explain why they shouldn’t.

While it may not stop your child from picking up the habit in question, simply admitting that yes, you have a bad habit can be helpful. You’re being honest and it gives you a chance to explain why it’s a bad habit in an age-appropriate way. Sometimes kids will cheerfully try to get you to stop.

No one is a perfect parent, and I wouldn’t suggest trying to be one. But you can work out ways to set the examples you want to, and try to break out of the old routines that aren’t teaching your kids what you really want them to learn.