With the daily hustle and bustle of parenting, it is easy to forget our health. It’s always more convenient to get food from the stores than to cook at home. Why even bother? This would just take more time for peeling and cutting, cooking, and cleaning up the whole kitchen! It’s also always more convenient to take the elevator than to take the stairs. Why even attempt the stairs when it would take you less than a minute to get to your floor through an elevator!
Everything we do now is determined by time and convenience. We grab food from the stores because we have limited time to cook and its much easier. We take the elevator because it’s quicker and easier. Time is of the essence, as they say. But so is our health. As the other saying goes, health is wealth.
As parents, we need to take extra good care of ourselves. Remember, we have little creatures that need our constant guidance and care. We need to keep ourselves healthy so we will never experience being away from our kids when we’re sick and never experience further complications because parenting duties have to go on despite the sickness.
Because we are spouses before we became parents, we have to take it as our responsibility to encourage our partners to be healthy. Here are some tips that might just push us and our partners to be healthier:
Do it together: Thinking of going to the gym or jogging around the neighborhood? Invite your partner! Consider this a date or a quality time for reconnecting and relaxing.
Take turns: Make cooking more fun by taking turns in surprising the other with healthier food options. To make it more appealing, make it a point to help the other clean up after savoring the dish.
Remind, don’t nag: Be gentle in reminding your partner about eating healthy, doing regular exercise and/or more physical activity in their everyday routine. Nagging will do nothing but discourage your partner.
Walk the talk: Monkey see, monkey do. As your partner sees that you are observing a healthier lifestyle, he/she will be more inspired to do the same.
Dig deeper: Always go back to your reasons for deciding to live a healthier lifestyle. Think about your partner and your children.
It may not be easy to take the healthier path, but with the right reasons and the right partner, being healthy becomes more meaningful rather than just a lifestyle.
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