5 Steps To Creating A Happy & Healthy Family In 2019
Have you seen Informed Families’ Lock Your Meds signs at your local Publix Pharmacy store? Through our amazing partnership with Publix Pharmacy, we are reaching roughly 1.2 million people in 720 stores across Florida and 397 in the Southeastern US with the Lock Your Meds message. Wow!
A happy and healthy family starts when you create a safe and healthy environment for children. This includes securing your medication, taking regular inventory to ensure nothing is missing and safely disposing of unused or expired medication.
Also, keep tabs on your liquor cabinet - and resist unhealthy social norms that make you feel bad for not “teaching your child to drink” at home. The research shows that children who start drinking before age 15 are 5 times more likely to have alcohol problems at adults.
Relax and spend more time together – actually talk to one another. This is not the same as sitting in the same room, each person on his or her screen! Whether it be regular family meals or a standing game night, having time to connect and communicate with each other about the non-important stuff will make talking about the critical topics later much more comfortable for all involved. Learn to laugh and cry together!
Consider how you frame messages about drugs and alcohol, especially as they relate to your own use. Even if you are a parent who smokes marijuana occasionally or who remembers using it fondly in your youth, you probably don’t want your child smoking marijuana while his or her brain is still developing. Please don’t share your affection for marijuana. Focus on your concern about health and brain development. Research shows that simply by expressing disapproval, your child is much less likely to do drugs. If you have a relative struggling with addiction, share that story.
Take time for yourself to exercise and practice diaphragmatic breathing, both will help you be the best parent you can be. Flight attendants direct you to put on your oxygen mask first for a reason. You need to be healthy to be able to help your children. No one benefits from you being a martyr.
Have a brilliant parenting tip for creating a happy and healthy family in 2019 that you’d like to share with us and our audience? Send us a note here.
Wishing you a fantastic year,
Peggy
