Ways that can stop your child from becoming

ways that can stop your child from becoming a couch potato and lead an active lifestyle.

The sound of the last bell, followed by swirling crowd, with the sweat swamping the body regardless of the weather. The incredible struggle to reach the panic room before the apocalypse breaks out exactly matches your child’s situation when they get off school. Except that the Apocalypse means your kid’s favorite TV show. They won’t even change, freshen up or at least take out their lunch box to be washed.

For them, the mission is clear and simple. They know only one road, and that road leads them straight to the TV or video games for that matter. Nothing can come between their path to victory. Well, except for power cut, that one time you must feel triumphant, but it’s temporary. You cannot always wish the power was out. And, you obviously can’t afford to scold them every day or sell the TV on Olx. It will only infuriate them which is not good for their development. This must leave you in utter bewilderment as to what could be done to stop your child from becoming a couch potato

Set rules in your home • If you think setting rules drive a wedge between you and your kids, you’re wrong. Rules backfire only when you’re not being careful while conveying them to your kids. You have to be their friend and tell them, that everybody in the house follows rules. Daddy has to go to work every morning, mommy has to prepare food for everybody (or any other work), and you (kids) have to study- (now the important part) as well as have fun. Rules should not feel like rules, it should feel like roles. Every person has a role to play, and kid’s role is to study, play, and have fun. That way, your kid will know when it’s time to turn off the TV and do something else (study, outdoors sports, sleep etc). And if they don’t turn off the TV, they will obey you when you tell them to turn it off.

Set rewards for prioritizing studies or any other thing to do • If they like watching TV straight after coming home from school, tell them they can only watch it after they change and take out their lunch box. If they like watching TV shows, make them earn the same. Tell them, just like parents work hard to make money, you (kids) have to work hard to earn your TV time. Give them daily tasks in terms of studies, outdoors sports, eating, etc. Only after achieving those tasks, they get a refill of their TV time. If you want to stop your child from becoming a couch potato, do it the right way so that they learn something from it. The lesson being, everything has to be earned.

Put a daily limit on the screen time • There is no limit of cool TV shows. There is always something good going on the TV which is loved by your kid. That does not mean they can sit all day and do just that. Make them understand the importance of balance in the activities that take up your day. You decide, and if you think 2 hours of TV time every day should be sufficient, then tell your kids that they have to pick their TV shows, so that screen time does not exceed 2 hours.

Improve your own habit of watching TV a lot • When parents love watching TV, kids will also learn to love it. Indian women, after preparing the dinner, spend most of their time watching TV serials. One cannot possibly expect their kids to obey when they are constantly being tempted. Instead, try covering your TV serials in the afternoon when kids are at school. During the night, make sure the kid has done all his day’s work, and he went to sleep. After that, you can afford to watch TV.

Encourage them for outdoor sports • Not only to stop them from being a couch potato, but also for other various reasons you should get them to play outdoors. I need not enlighten the fact that obesity is touching the new highs around the world. Repercussions of obesity are countless: diabetes, high cholesterol, blood pressure, to name a few. Also, lack of proper nutrients and exercise does not really help your children in their brain development. Make sure studies and outdoors sports top the list of to-do things in your child’s day