A diet loaded with vegetables and fruits can stave off obesity and heart disease, among other illnesses. If your child hates vegetables, entice her with healthy dips. Let them fill up on a variety of fruits. Don't substitute juice for the real thing. Juice packs more calories and sugar into fewer nutrients and less fiber.
Exercise is the easiest habit to teach children.
Make it a natural part of your family's life. Go for walks after dinner, kick around the soccer ball, ride bikes or invest in in-line skates, and don't drive when you can walk. Daily tick checking should be a routine as well. Lyme disease, an infectious illness spread by ticks, can cause nerve palsy and meningitis if left untreated. Slather on the sunscreen every time the kids go outside.