It is important to inculcate useful habits from childhood. A psychologist explains how to do it correctly

D. in Philosophy, Master of Psychology, Academic Director of Skysmart Online School

How does a healthy lifestyle affect children’s learning and what habits should be instilled at an early age?

We conducted a survey among parents of our students on the topic of continuous learning – to understand what they do to learn new things. And we saw that 86% of respondents follow a healthy lifestyle, and 76% teach it to their children. Besides, healthy lifestyle and self-development are connected: 80% of such parents have children taking English lessons, 62% of them are involved in sports, 35% – in creative circles.

We tell you how to instill healthy habits in your child and why it is so important.

Proper nutrition

What your child eats is the building blocks that make up his body. Health, thinking, and performance for many years to come depend on the nutrition in childhood. Therefore, it is important to make it balanced.

Practicing pediatric endocrinologist, nutritionist, consultant in the psychology of weight and eating behavior

Let’s start with carbohydrates: they should make up about half of the child’s daily diet. Preference is better to give complex: cereals and legumes, pasta from hard wheat, whole-grain bread.

Carbohydrates are the main “fuel” that gives us strength and energy.

Another 30% are proteins, which are found mainly in animal foods: meat, fish, poultry and seafood. Vegetarians are advised to pay attention to legumes, especially lentils, cottage cheese and low-fat cheese. Protein is the building material for all parts of our body, from bones to skin.

And what about fruits and vegetables? And here they are – for the development of memory, it is very important for children to get fiber from food, about 25 g for every 2000 kcal. Preschoolers need 10 g a day, elementary school students need 15 g, and teenagers need 30 g. Fiber helps digestion and other metabolic processes in the body.

Also, 25-35% of the diet should be filled with healthy fats: pay attention to Omega-3, the main sources of which are fish and nuts. But it is better to reduce trans fats to 10%. For schoolchildren, healthy fats help build new neural connections and learn new things faster.

How to calculate this without scales and calculators? Imagine a plate of lunch. Fill half of it with fiber: non-starchy vegetables, fruits and berries. A quarter with carbohydrates and another quarter with protein.

Problems with memory and performance can be caused by physiological reasons. And often a revision of the menu completely changes the situation. For tips on how to teach your child to eat healthy, check out the link below.

Attention and discipline

To get results in anything, whether it’s academics or sports, it’s important to focus and pay attention to your goal. However, it is a mistake to think that discipline is only about willpower: I will sit down and not get up from the table until I do all my homework! Willpower is physiologically limited – especially in children.

Therefore, it is important to teach the child to effectively use the time for which he can really get ready. Calculate it using the formula: age plus one minute. For example, a 12-year-old schoolboy can work with full dedication for 13-15 minutes. So, all homework should be divided into short 15-minute approaches. And between them take small breaks to drink water, walk or stretch.

Set clear achievable goals: not “learn math”, but “solve three equations correctly”. This way the child can see each of his results and be proud of them.

Motivasyon

Parents of our students often ask how to get their child interested in learning if he or she wants nothing more than to lie on the couch with a smartphone. First of all, of course, it is necessary to normalize the balance of work and rest: check that the child is not overloaded with activities at school and at clubs. Or does not play online games at night instead of sleeping properly.

Then it is worthwhile to establish a regimen: sufficient sleep, proper nutrition, moderate physical activity. If that’s okay, look within for the answer – harness the power of dopamine. This is the hormone that makes us feel joy when we achieve something: solving a task correctly, completing a major project, winning a competition. Any awards for achievements motivate us, and neither of them need to be big.

To make it interesting for your child to learn, it is important to make him/her like the results and inspire him/her. You can praise or ask the teacher to do so, agree on a prize: for example, if the child finishes the quarter without a “C”, he will get a new phone.

It is possible to invent and give a “Achievement”, as in a computer game: when our students see how many lessons they have passed, how many tasks they have done, they begin to appreciate their results more and gladly share them with their parents. This is how sports interest in learning is formed, and with it – and interest in the subject (of course, we do not exclude the important factor – a good teacher and individual approach).

Pay attention to the so-called “cheap” dopamine. For example, a new level in a computer game may bring as much emotion as a solved task – but the task will require more energy.

You can reasonably limit the sources of cheap dopamine, or you can try to make other achievements more appealing. For example, if a child can do math, put him or her in a programming class where he or she can make games for others to play.

An important point: children largely copy the behavior of parents and take as a norm what is accepted to do in the family. The best way to instill useful habits in a child is to show by example. How to properly motivate yourself, read in the article at the link.