(HealthDay News) -- Healthy habits for regular exercise and a good diet start at home, and they should start at a young age.
The American Heart Association offers these suggestions to help your child stay healthy for life:
- Set a good example by living a healthy lifestyle yourself.
- Make exercise a family activity that involves everyone. Make family time for exercise every day, choosing sports and games that everyone enjoys.
- Set a limit on the amount of time your child spends watching TV, playing video games, or on the computer.
- Set goals for your child, such as a certain amount of daily physical activity or limits on the amount of unhealthy foods allowed.
- Encourage and reward good behavior, but never with food.
- Have a healthy dinner as a family every night.
- Teach your child to read food labels, and to recognize which foods are healthy and which aren't.
