‘Health is Wealth’, is the hymn for the 21st century too, as has been for centuries. Each of us dreams of living a long and happy life free from health ailments and illnesses of any kinds. Our health is of prime importance in the quest for a happy life. Everything else can be acquired and achieved if your health is good. Most of the people who have a dream of making it big in life achieve their dreams at the cost of their health – they take too much stress and push themselves a tad bit more than they can handle. The end result is devastating – you have earned the riches and have an excellent social status at the age of forty odd, but your health has gone for a toss! You end up spending all that you have earned on recovery to good health. But there are no guarantees when it comes to your health. May be even after spending substantial amounts on your health, you might still not be fine and in good health, because of the damage that has already been done so gradually over the years.
Why do we then tend to neglect our health so much? What are the possible things we can follow to ensure permanence of good health? As parents, how much time and energy do we invest in teaching our kids the importance of health and fitness? For you to influence your kids’ mind and teach them the importance of health and hygiene, you have to set a good example for them. If you are a parent, then it is your prime responsibility to imbibe in your kids the importance of living healthy. At home, you can start taking corrective measures for yourself and preventive measures for your kids in many ways. Start doing the small things that are important and achievable and soon you will realize that mind-sets and health conditions are improving. For instance, keeping the family especially the young ones on their toes can be a tough call, given the kind of sedentary lifestyle some kids have got accustomed to. Kids and teenagers want to only lie in front of the idiot box, watching cartoons or playing games on Play Stations respectively. There hardly seems to be any fervor for sports in kids now-a-days.
Research has shown that kids who are into a habit of exercising on a daily basis lead a much healthy life. They are prone to fewer diseases and lead a life free from coronary ailments, for instance. Exercise and sports are the best way to keep a good health. Habits that are made a practice in childhood are difficult to recoil from in the long run. Regular exercise can be inculcated as a habit since childhood, and only then can it be effectively practiced for as long as ever. At times, parents do not allow their kids to play and indulge in sports for the fear that their children might only take to sports, thus neglecting education totally. On the contrary, almost all researches carried out by child psychologists on the psyche of children have proven that children, who are allowed to practice some sport or the other, have less chances of developing obesity in future, which is one of the major reasons for health problems in children in the United States. Research also points out that almost all kids who have indulged in sports at one point or the other in their life have a higher chance of being ambitious, and are successful in their careers as compared to those kids who have stuck to their play stations. Playing some sport since childhood inculcates a desire to win and excel in all aspects of your life, as it motivates you to be competent and successful. It develops the sportsman spirit at a very young age which stays on forever.
Health and Wellness are directly proportional to the kind of lifestyle that we lead in the long run. Good health cannot be achieved in a year or two. But let us at least pledge to take corrective measures for our own betterment, so that we may live healthy for as long as we live! Diet and fitness should be given due importance in our lives, as they are the key factors that determine how long or how healthy we may live.