Self-care is exactly what it sounds like. But there’s more to it than meets the eye.
The World Health Organization defines self-care as the ability of an individual to “promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability.”
As a parent, it’s important to teach your children about self-care as young as they are. Doing so doesn’t necessarily entail health promotion, disease prevention, and self-rehabilitation from an illness or injury. Of course, you don’t expect your kids to be grown-ups who can take care of themselves completely.
However, there are a few self-care tips you can teach your children. These include the following:
- Taking care of their bodies (eating properly, working out, getting enough sleep, etc.)
- Boosting self-image and self-esteem (proper grooming and developing skills and talents)
- Knowing how to have fun (pursuing hobbies and interests, playing with other kids, interacting with people, etc.)
- Helping others or volunteering in the community
Self-care is critical to your children’s overall health and well-being. With the aforementioned self-care skills, you’ll be surprised at how your kids will greatly benefit from them.
That said, here’s why it pays to teach your young children about self-care:
1. They’ll value healthy living
It’s important to teach your children about healthy living. This goes as simple as waking up early, sleeping on time, eating vegetables, and enjoying physical activities. As habits are hard to break among older ones, teach them as young as they are.
Also, it’s best to bring your kids to a pediatric clinic and ensure they aren’t afraid of doctors. That way, they know how to get help and seek medical care when they grow up. Ultimately, teaching self-care will help your kids see the value of healthy living.
2. They’ll learn the importance of hygiene
Proper hygiene starts at an early age. This goes as simple as teaching your children how to take a bath, wash their hands, change their clothes, or clean their mess. As a parent, it is your responsibility to do so. In fact, a dirty and messy kid is a reflection of an irresponsible mother or father.
Keep in mind that personal hygiene contributes much to an individual’s overall health. When your kids are always clean and hygienic, they won’t be prone to germs and diseases. They will bring this attitude of maintaining proper hygiene as they grow up.
3. They’ll be more confident about themselves
Teaching your children how to groom themselves and look good can go a long way. For one, they will learn to feel good about themselves. Also, you must be supportive as a parent in developing your kids’ skills, talents, and abilities. By doing so, you’ll make confident children as they grow up. Ultimately, this unwavering confidence will take them to places.
4. They’ll make the right decisions and take the right actions
Another good reason to teach your children about self-care is how they’ll learn to make the right decisions in life. Along with this is how they will learn to think twice before taking some actions. Here are some practical self-care tips for your children:
- Let them ride a bike and get hurt.
- Give them options when choosing their toys.
- Allow them to socialize with kids from all walks of life.
- Teach them how to earn and save up.
- Allow them to commit mistakes and make the necessary corrections.
Keep in mind that self-care entails being a critical thinker when making decisions. It also means being responsible for one’s actions. You’ll be amazed at how teaching self-care among your children will make them successful in the future.
5. They will learn to live independently
Self-care is not all about taking good care of yourself. It is also about being able to stand up for yourself.
If you teach your children about self-care, you’ll be surprised at how independent they will become. They can groom themselves, feed themselves, and even go to school on their own. They can even do their homework without your help.
At school, they won’t easily and quickly get bullied. When bullying happens, they know how to seek help and report to the proper authority. All these will have positive repercussions in their lives in the future.
Self-care is vital for young children. Teach them self-care as early as now so they’ll value healthy living, maintain hygiene, feel confident about themselves, take the right actions, and learn to live independently. By teaching self-care, you’ll be surprised at how your kids will grow into responsible adults and good citizens of the world.
