Teenagers often get a bad rap for being lazy. After eight hours of school, two-hour practice, and seemingly endless homework, anyone would be ready to become a couch potato! And you can’t blame laziness for their screen time. So much of the world is online, even classes! Instead of condemning teenagers as lazy, help them build habits for a healthy lifestyle.
Help Your Teenagers Build a Healthy Lifestyle
One area is to help hungry teenagers choose good snack options. While they may sneer at milk, dairy remains an important food group for growing teens. A milk-free diet during critical growing years could have multiple effects on child health, including not reaching their full height potential, an increase in stress fractures during adolescence, and a greater chance of osteoporosis as an adult. Though teenagers may seem to be almost adults, they aren’t done growing. 15% of your adult height is added as a teen and milk can help make the most of it.
And choosing milk helps teens’ active lifestyle.
Real milk is a complete protein, whereas most plant-based proteins are incomplete, meaning they are missing some of the essential amino acids, or building blocks our bodies need. The protein in milk keeps teens feeling fuller longer, provides energy to fuel their day, and helps muscles recover — even while asleep.
Children are encouraged to have an hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. If they aren’t a part of a sports team, plan activities to get everyone moving. Have evening games of basketball or a short hike on the weekend, slowly building up active plans until the week is full.
Make sure teenagers are doing a combination of different exercises throughout the week. Aerobic activity that gets the heart pumping, strength training, and stretches provide variety to keep teens interested. Afterward, serve up a smoothie made with real milk to help your teens refuel and replenish.
Exercise can increase energy levels and improve sleep. In addition to physical benefits, working out has positive mental effects. It helps reduce stress and sharpen memory. And these areas benefit busy teens!
But don’t force drastic changes on your family. Slowly change your family’s eating habits and activity levels. Building these positive habits throughout adolescence can help kids as they grow ups.