4 Habits for a Healthier Family Lifestyle
healthy family
This post is created in partnership with Stonyfield and Toms of Maine. However all views expressed here about creating healthy family habits are my own.
When you have your first kid things change a little bit lot. Things that you never knew existed become part of your every day vocabulary like "butt paste" and "bulb syringe." And then you add a few more kids and suddenly you have "a crew," a gaggle of little people you're responsible for (my crew is now almost 7, 4 and 18 months). Since becoming a parent seven years ago (whaaaat?!) I've made some conscious choices when it comes to our family's health.
When you've got little ones to take care of your priorities can often shift and you become more aware of the lifestyle choices you are making. It's not that I didn't want to make healthy choices before kids, it's that my choices impact more than just me. Here are a few ways we consciously try to make our family lifestyle healthy
Healthy Family Habits
Get outside
I need to be outside. It is just how I'm wired. Being outside for a prolonged period of time is essential to my mental health. And I've noticed that the kids do better when we are outside too. While we get outside quite regularly on a daily basis, playing in the yard and riding bikes in the driveway, it has become more and more obvious to me that we need weekly "adventures," times when we get out for an entire day as a family and become completely immersed in "being outside." Sometimes that is a hike or a trip to the beach or time on a trail. These weekly adventures aren't always met with enthusiasm. Most of the time my announcement to "Get in the car, we're going on an adventure!" is met with whining and complaining and cries of "I just want to stay here and play!" Whatever the protest is, as soon as they are strapped in and we're on our way the mood shifts and once we get where we are going the adventure begins and everyone is on board.
Healthy Family Habits
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Ditch plastic
When our middle son Jack was transitioning to feeding himself and using a cup I decided to ditch all plastic. I overhauled all our food storage containers and replaced them with glass. And then I started to get rid of our collection of plastic kid-dishes. Even though most plastics are now labeled BPA-free, I wanted them to have a grasp on how to properly handle glasses and ceramic plates. I went to the local thrift store and purchase cups and small plates for just a few cents and those became our "kid dishes." This got us away from using plastic and also gave our kids a chance to handle "real dishes" during family meal times, so that when we are out at a restaurant or visiting a friends house they can properly handle dishes so that they don't break.
Apparently spoons are also overrated.
Use Natural Bath and Body Products
toms of maine
For us the switch to natural bath and body products happened when Jack was born. Because of his nevus I started researching natural and effective sunscreens. I wanted to find a sunscreen that didn't have any suspect ingredients. I discovered what happens to be a local to us company Badger Balm. From there I started to overhaul our family's bath products, I ditched lotions, shampoos and creams and opted instead for homemade coconut oil lotion (thanks Mom!) and Toms Bath and Body products. We swapped out our toothpaste for Tom's. Now Tom's is making more bath and body products than they ever have before. They are committed to making eco-friendly, sustainably sourced products that contain natural ingredients. I like their bath soaps, deodorant and they even have a special line of baby bath products. You can read more about them here. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Cook in Cast Iron
About five years ago I decided to overhaul our cookware. All of my pots and pans had a non-stick surface, which was all-the rage when I registered for them 12 years ago. It was time for them to go (the non-stick surface had started to flake off which is bad news bears for sure). Since overhauling your entire pot and pan collection is a pricey endeavor I started with our most used pans first and replaced them with two cast-iron pans. I received an enamel dutch oven for Christmas and then bought another enamel wear soup pot. It turns out you don't need that 13 piece pot and pan set that you registered for that sits in your cabinets taking up space. You can get by with far less. Once the cast iron is seasoned properly it is a great way to cook eggs and pancakes and anything else your heart desires. Plus you get the added benefit of slightly more iron in your diet.
Has becoming a parent changed the lifestyle choices you make?
--Sarah
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