Teaching My Daughter About Heart Health

Having heart health issues run in my family for the longest time, I have taken it upon myself to teach my daughter about the ways that we can look after our heart health as a way of life. So much of what we get is handed down to us in our genetics and we need to take control of the things that we can.

She is still young and in one of my home languages, there is a saying that says you bend the tree while it is young. And while there are many ways of interpreting this. I choose that learning habits young and creating them to be part of your daily routine and lifestyle makes it grow with us. As with most things with children, they learn best by example. So I have chosen to lead by example.

Walking

This is my favorite workout, my favorite way to work on keeping my heart healthy. It is a good way to get in shape and keep your health. So to achieve this goal I have taught my daughter about how walking is good for us in general.

I have not made it a huge drama.  We go for a walk every day, and we keep track of our steps and try and make sure we get ten thousand steps a day. When we are tired we rest and we make sure to keep a good and consistent routine. We walk because it is good for us and we make it fun, we pick up pretty leaves and point out flowers and little creatures that we may spot along the way.

Less junk

As a rule, we have a house with ingredients, most things need to be made from fresh and I try and keep the balance of how much "junk" I allow in the house. We make most things fresh so that we know what is in them. Takeaways have not ever been a huge part of our lifestyle, but we do indulge every now and then, and when we do, we enjoy it. I pack healthy school lunches with a treat here and there.

Healthy food

Teaching my daughter about healthy food has been one of my greatest joys. I enjoy learning about most things, and food has always been one of my passions. Now, we do not do this every time, sometimes we just throw together a quick meal. Other times we unpack and learn about what we are eating and what the different things do for our bodies. What nutrients come from what fruit vegetables and meat, and why eating 5 servings of produce a day is good for us. We try to eat our rainbow as often as we can and make a point of shopping the rainbow is fruit and veg too.

Mental health

We also make a point of taking care of her mental health, I had to learn to do this for myself before I could teach her. We journal and talk about hard things and we go to therapy when we have very big or traumatic things happen. Hopefully, by laying a good foundation for her, she will find it easier to take care of herself and her heart health in the process. While this does not change genetics, it does mean that she stands a better chance of keeping on top of her health and keeping her heart health in good condition.