The first way to make healthy fun or rather to keep it from becoming un-fun is to have the right goals. The purpose for eating well and exercising regularly is not to be thin. If a child is thin but not eating right or exercising regularly, then s/he is still not healthy. Moreover, with all the pressure in their lives, children don’t need the added emotional burden of being told they should look a certain way. Some children will never look thin no matter how healthy they are. Equating healthy eating with body size and body size with beauty can lead to emotional stress—poor body image and low self-esteem.[1]

What’s the goal then? To be healthy and take care of our bodies.

2. Do it together.

An ancient proverb reads: Two together keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? Being healthy together makes the process easier.[2]

A few weeks ago, we talked about negotiating behavior expectations together as a class or family. A set of health standards can also be negotiated. Once the standards are set, then you can work toward them together. Of course, parents/teachers, this means you need to be willing to make changes to your habits right alongside the children. (Exercise more, quit smoking, etc.)

Eating meals together as a family may also make healthy more fun. As each of you takes a turn telling a funny experience from your day or sharing a high and low, your enjoyment in each other’s company may become more important than the food. You may also slow down to listen and so eat less.

3. Make it art.

Word art: When I was a child, my parents got my sisters and me to eat a noodle with poppy seed dish by calling it Bug Noodles and a lentil dish by retelling a well-known story. We were intrigued to be eating the same lentil soup that a main character cooked and then used to steal his brother’s birthright.

Picture art: See the pictures in the 3^rd link below for ideas about how to turn eating fruits and vegetables into an art. [3]

4. Make it a game or a competition.

One family I know turns their after dinner walk into a race or a game of chase. They’ve even made up their own silly family rhyme as part of the chase. Another family used to go outside after dinner and have jump rope competitions. In a class, everyone could work together so that each student’s minutes of exercise combine toward the overall class goal of 2500 a week (or whatever is appropriate for your class). Then, reaching the goal is rewarded with…10 extra minutes of recess on Friday afternoon…or…?

Turn trying out new vegetables into an investigation. Everyone rates each vegetable’s color, taste, and texture. Then, family/class favorites are chosen. For children who like math, let them read food labels and look up nutrition information in order to figure out how healthy the foods are that you’re eating. Then, have them design and keep a family/class chart to track progress.

For other ideas about how to make healthy eating a game, see number 7 in the 4^th link below.[4]

5. Praise rather than shame.

I think sometimes we forget how powerful words are, for good and bad. Try an experiment with the children in your life this week. Instead of shaming them into being healthy, praise them into it. Then, let us know what happens.