Healthy habits must start at a young age as it takes a lot of time and practice to adopt. Parents must guide their children by establishing good habits while they are still young. As parents, you have to be positive influences so children can learn from imitating your good habits. Adults are the leading examples in showing kids and teens the proper ways.
As 2024 begins, ensure that young members of the family can build good habits to form along with the new year. Developing healthy lifestyle habits at an early age can lead to several lifelong benefits.
Importance of Creating Healthy Habits to Start at a Young Age
- Avoids serious health conditions like heart ailments, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.
- Helps prevent a sedentary lifestyle.
- Develops better social skills.
- Builds self-confidence.
- Learns self-control in eating unhealthy snacks.
On the other hand, neglecting the chance to form good habits while still young can have negative effects later on in life.
To help you encourage the younger generation to incorporate beneficial practices into their lifestyle, here are 7 healthy habits that the young can adopt and practice to stay healthy for a long time.
7 Essential Good and Healthy Habits to Form by Young People
1. Develop and Practice Good Hygiene.
Young people must keep their bodies clean and healthy by practicing good hygiene. Doing this will not only prevent sickness but can also increase confidence, With a good hygiene, a person will feel good about the body and find it easier to interact with other people.
Some of the good habits to form as part of healthy hygiene include:
- Frequent hand washing. Keeping the hands always clean can prevent the spread of germs and infections. Teach children to wash their hands before and after meals, after using the bathroom, after playing outside the house, after using the restroom, and after coughing and sneezing.
- Brush teeth regularly. Brushing should be done after waking up in the morning, after meals, and before going to bed at night. Young people must develop good oral hygiene to avoid cavities, plaques, and bad breath.
- Floss regularly. Flossing is part of good habits to form after brushing the teeth to enhance its positive effects and prevent gum infections.
- Take a bath or shower every day. One of the good habits to form at a young age is having regular baths or showers to clean the body and remove germs and dead skin cells. They prevent infections that can cause illnesses. Bathing can invigorate the body to lessen stress and anxiety.
- Trim the nails each week. Keeping the nails short prevents the spread of germs and infections since long fingernails can harbor dirt and germs.
- Wear clean clothes each day. This is good personal hygiene that has to be adopted at a young age. Aside from avoiding the spread of germs and bacteria that may cause sickness, wearing unsoiled clothes can boost your confidence in smelling fresh.
If soap and water are inaccessible, another alternative is to use an alcohol or hand sanitizer. Using BestLab 10-in-1 Protection 75% Ethyl Alcohol is safe as it is formulated according to the given standards by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While the alcohol disinfects and controls viruses, it has aloe vera extracts that can soothe skin irritations caused by regular hand washing and sanitation. It also leaves a light, cool, and fresh-smelling scent after applying it to the skin.
2. Have a Healthy and Balanced Diet.
One of the good habits to form while young is to eat the right kinds of foods. Proper nutrition must start at home. Parents need to encourage kids and teens to eat fruits and vegetables. Avoid too much junk food, sweets, sugary snacks, and soft drinks because these are not good for your health. Sticking to a healthy and balanced diet is one of the good and healthy habits to adopt while young. It will help children adopt it to their lifestyle as they mature. Without a balanced diet, the body is more susceptible to illnesses. Plan and have home-cooked meals, if possible. Planning can help prepare the right food choices for the family.
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Use safe dishwashing liquids when washing utensils after eating meals at home. This boosts the effects of healthy lifestyle practices. BestLab Tea Tree Dishwashing Liquid is formulated with effective and natural antibacterial from lactic acid and tea tree oil to ensure safety while keeping utensils clean and free from grease.
3. Drink Water Regularly.
Always stay hydrated. Inculcate to young people that drinking a sufficient amount of water is among the good habits to form while growing up. Aside from warding off dehydration, drinking water has several benefits. While there may be varying recommendations on how much water a person needs daily, staying hydrated is essential.
4. Establish a Good Sleep Habit.
Teach children the importance of sleeping on time and getting enough of it. This is one of the basic healthy habits to form while young. Good sleep habits, also called sleep hygiene, are essential. Do not deprive yourself and the younger ones of sufficient sleep.
The amount of sleep depends on several factors including age such that it is recommended for kids 3 to 5 years old to sleep plus take naps 10 to 13 hours per day while 13 to 18-year-olds must have 8 to 10 hours of sleep daily. You can also follow helpful tips to sleep better in the evening such as:
- Avoid drinking stimulants like caffeine before going to bed at night.
- Follow a consistent bedtime schedule.
- Do not eat late at night.
- Take a warm bath or shower.
- Make the bedroom conducive to sleep by reducing noise and light.
Teach kids and teens that sleeping is one of the most important good habits to form early in life to stay fresh and fit. This will also make it easier for them to stick to a healthy sleep routine later in life.
5. Incorporate Physical Activities into the Daily Routine.
According to Statista as of June 2022, 14% of 5 to 10 years old and 13% of 10 to 19 years old in the Philippines were diagnosed as obese.
Introduce physical activities to young people to develop an interest in keeping their bodies fit and strong. Good habits to form and adopt while young can include exercising and engaging in sports. Regular exercise has many health benefits. It can help avoid weight gain, lessen the risk of having heart ailments and other severe diseases, and make you feel good due to enhanced mood.
Children may find it difficult to stick to a regular fitness routine. Help them develop a fitness habit by simply accompanying them for a walk, jog, or bike in the park. A few hours of those activities can help them engage in physical activities. Encourage kids with exciting activities to keep them away in front of the computer and play video games for long hours. Since sports are also considered a form of exercise, parents can encourage the young ones to engage in sports like basketball, volleyball, football, swimming, or tennis to stay in shape and develop the value of sportsmanship.
Sweating is inevitable if you engage in physical activities so use a clean towel to wipe the sweat away. You can keep yourself refreshed by using wipes such as Bestlab’s Tangerine Blossom Hand and Face Wipes. The cottony soft wipes can cleanse, disinfect, moisturize, and protect skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Not only does it help kill germs but it is also enriched with Vitamin E and has a gentle scent to keep the skin clean and fresh.
6. Visit the Doctor and Dentist Regularly.
One of the good habits to form while young is to visit the doctors and dentists regularly. Aside from preventing health problems, it will also help keep kids from developing iatrophobia (fear of doctors) and dentophobia (fear of dentists). Help them alleviate their fear by explaining that visits to the doctor and dentist are good and healthy experiences.
7. Stop Smoking and Limit Drinking.
Some teens may get influenced by peer pressure or become curious to try smoking or drinking alcohol. Educate teenagers about the serious health problems associated with smoking and drinking. Be a good model for them to encourage them to follow your practices until they become adults.
ALSO READ: Personal Hygiene Products that Everyone Needs
Healthy habits can go a long way so start developing and practicing them while young. There are several good habits to form during childhood and teenage years. Young people are easier to mold if adults keep teaching and reminding them about the benefits of having good and healthy habits. The young emulate their parents and significant adults so setting good examples when building good habits is vital.
Are you looking for good hygiene products to use at your home and office? Check out Best Lab for its different selections.