Fitness Top 10 Family Fitness Lifestyle Habits By Catherine Holecko facebook Catherine Holecko is an experienced freelance writer and editor, who specializes in pregnancy, parenting, health and fitness. Learn about our editorial process Catherine Holecko Fact checked by Fact checked by Cara Lustik on June 28, 2020 linkedin Cara Lustik is a fact checker and copywriter. Learn about our editorial process Cara Lustik Updated on June 28, 2020 Print A lifestyle of family fitness requires a commitment from your whole team. It will be much easier for children to accept—maybe even embrace—changes in their eating habits and activity levels if they are not going it alone. These recommendations apply to families in which someone needs to lose weight, and also to those families hoping to prevent obesity and kick off lifelong healthy habits. Everyone can benefit from better nutrition and more physical activity, no matter where they're starting out. 1 Spend an Hour a Day Moving Ken Usami / Photodisc / Getty Images Help kids fit in at least 60 minutes of fitness every day (for weight loss, maintenance, obesity prevention, and general health). That might mean 20 minutes walking to and from school, 15 minutes of physical play at recess, and 25 minutes of soccer, either informally or at practice with teammates. Make sure your child has the gear he needs to have fun and be safe (baseball mitt, bike helmet, etc.), but remember there are lots of ways to be active that require little or no equipment. Physical Activity for School-Aged Kids 2 Stock up on Fruits and Vegetables Encourage your child to eat five or more servings of produce a day. This helps crowd out less nutritious choices and gives your child lots of vitamins and antioxidants. Try the "rainbow challenge": How many different colors of fruits and veggies can he eat in a day? A week? Satisfying Snacks Your Kids Will Love 3 Be a Role Model to Inspire Kids Set a good example for your child by choosing a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise yourself. You don't have to become a marathon runner overnight, but adding a walk after dinner or a yoga class in the morning helps a lot. Challenge yourself to use your car less and your bike (or your feet) more. Simple Ways Parents Can Fit in the Time to Work Out 4 Drink Lots of Water Swap soda for water, low-fat milk, or juice (but limit juice to 4 to 8 ounces a day, since it contains natural sugars and lots of calories). Encourage water as the go-to drink for everyone in your home. Tips for Increasing Kids' Water Intake 5 Limit Screen Time Shut off the TV (or computer, or video game console, or tablet) after a max of two hours a day. This frees up time for more physical activity and can contribute to kids' weight loss. 10 Ways to Limit Your Kids' Screen Time for Better Health 6 Eat a Healthy Breakfast Every Day Eating breakfast helps your child avoid snacking on empty calories later in the morning because she's "sooooo hungry." Provide a morning meal that includes whole grains, fruit, and protein. Skipping meals doesn't promote weight loss, for kids or adults! Healthy Breakfast Ideas Your Kids Will Love 7 Get a Good Night's Sleep Sufficient, restful sleep can actually help prevent weight gain in kids and adults. Plus, staying at a healthy weight and getting enough daily exercise can improve sleep. So make sure everyone in your home is snoozing soundly each night. 8 Eat Meals at Home Yes, you can make healthy choices at restaurants and even your favorite fast-food spot, but it's a lot easier to control your family's fat and calorie intake if you prepare food at home. How Families Can Eat Healthier by Using Meal Plans 9 Rethink Exercise to Make Kids' Physical Activity More Fun Physical activity doesn't have to mean an organized team sport or class. Housework, yard work, and playing at the playground all get kids up and moving. So does asking them to teach you a new dance move or race you to the corner as you walk around the block. Changing Family Fitness Activities for a Growing Family 10 Be Your Child's Cheerleader Especially during puberty, kids need lots of encouragement to be active and move their bodies. Praise them for making small changes and for weight loss efforts, not results. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get expert tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Beccuti G, Pannain S. Sleep and Obesity. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2011;14(4):402-412. doi:10.1097/MCO.0b013e3283479109