1) Support your kids to make healthy changes to their everyday life

Reduce television watching time

Over the past 5-10 years numerous studies have been carried out to discover links between obesity and time spent watching television. These are some of the findings from these studies:

• We burn fewer calories when we are watching TV than we do when we are sitting still.
• Most TV commercials invite their viewers to eat. A study in USA found that the average American child sees about 10,000 TV commercials a year and approximately 9,500 of these are for one of four types of food: fast foods, soft drinks, sugar based cereals and lollies.
• Too much television prevents children from developing the skills needed to participate and love sports. The skills and knowledge of the sports are what makes the physical activity so much fun.
• Playing computer games may well be worse for your child than watching TV. Not only can they grow to be addictive, but they can be played all day and all night, taking up time to exercise and play.

This means less TV for parents too………..

As parents we rely on TV to occupy and entertain our kids. Then when our kids get fat we get upset. What is the moral of this story you might be asking?

Well, we as parents have to take a better interest in our children and the activities that they participate in. This doesn't mean we have to entertain our children from when they wake up till the moment they close their eyes.

Encourage your older kids to read, and do things that are creative. Get them to participate in school or community related sports or activities.

Give your children more time and get involved by playing with them, especially your younger children.

Set an example by talking to your kids about anything and everything, with the expectation that they will be inspired to try new activities and games.

2) Encourage your children to be 'extra active'

Play with them! There is nothing your kids will love more than having their close family members playing games and doing activities with them.

Play football, go cycling, go skating, go to the beach or go swimming.

Be a more active family. Go out for family walks, hikes and bike rides.

Help your kids to discover activities that they like by showing them the possibilities.

A special trick to encourage your kids to exercise is to ask them to help you to get fit. Ask them to go for a walk with you, or a swim, or a bike ride. They think they are helping you but in fact you are getting them active and moving ant the same time.

3) Make it easy for your kids to be healthy

Don't make it too obvious! If your kids are a little overweight the most important thing is to not go on and on about it. This will only create more problems. The answer is to make it easy and fun for them to eat appropriate foods and reduce the amount of fatty foods they eat. It will not work if healthy foods are forced upon them, they will grow to not like them! A good starting point is to buy less soft drink and start drinking water! Soft drinks contain piles of sugar that almost instantly turns into fat as it is hard for the body to break down. Water sifts through the bad things in our system and cleanses us.

§ Be encouraging rather than assertive.

§ If there are children in your family who are overweight, don't make an issue of the overweight children going on a diet, while the other kids carry on eating as 'normal'.

§ Introduce changes on a 'healthy eating' pretext for all the family rather than a 'diet' for the overweight child.

§ Let your kids know that they're great as they are, but losing weight is a way of improving their lives. Make sure they know that it is not something to make everyone else happy.

§ Discuss the benefits they will get by making better choices about what and how often they eat. Explain to them that everything will get better for them. For instance, they will have more energy, more confidence, more friends, and be better at the sports or activities they enjoy.

§ Be positive about making changes and support them.

4) Set a good example for them by being more active and eating healthier yourself.

As a parent you are a child's first teacher and their lifetime role model.

Just as little girls want to dress up in Mummy's shoes, kids often emulate eating and exercise patterns from their parents too.

Research has revealed particular patterns to role modelling. For instance, girls tend to mimic the eating behaviour and body image concerns of their mothers, while boys are more likely to adopt the exercise habits of their dads.

Parents, naturally, strongly influence the food choice of their children. With a huge array of foods on offer, it's not uncommon to stick to a limited range of favourite recipes at home. And your child is unlikely to try a food you dislike, unless they are at a restaurant or a friend's house. So here are some friendly reminders about being a healthy eating role model:

Eat breakfast – It's the most important meal of the day - your body needs to refuel after an overnight fast. Even if you can't stomach cereal or are rushing around trying to get lunches packed, try to sit down with your kids for a few minutes with a cup of tea and toast.

Experiment from time to time – just because you don't like seafood doesn't mean that your kids won't. And they'll never know unless they give it a try. Aim to offer different foods and food experiences to keep healthy eating fun.

Drink water – tea, coffee and alcohol are traditional adult drinks, but in today's modern world of advertising it's hard to convince kids that sweetened fruit drinks, soft drinks and cordials should only be occasional treats. If you expect your kids to drink water with meals while you down with a soft drink, it won't be long before they are asking for a soft drink too.

Increase the variety – involve your kids in the decisions made about what they eat from a wide range of healthy foods. For example, don't just keep one cereal on the shelf but offer a range of three to four different healthy options. The greater variety of foods consumed the more likely you and your family are to meet your nutritional requirements.

Be careful linking food and mood - keep an eye on your own emotional eating habits and watch the use of food as an immediate comforter if your child is upset. Try and also avoid denying a favourite food as punishment, or using food as bribes, which can increase the likelihood of disordered eating down the track.

Source:http://www.ninemsn.com.au/aww/LowFat/articles/Dietadvice/article849.asp