Millions of Aussie kids are about to go on school holidays. If your child is one of them, you may be grappling for new ways to amuse them. Look no further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are 7 ideas for healthy holiday activities, which might just be good for the whole family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teaching children how to cook is an easy way to encourage them to eat healthily \u2014 well into adulthood. One study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior<\/em> found that young adults (aged 18 to 23) with some cooking skills had better nutritional outcomes a decade later, such as eating more vegetables and consuming less fast food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find simple recipes that you can make together at the Dietitians Australia website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is some evidence that children can lose some fitness and increase their body mass index (BMI) during a summer break. So, children aged 5 and over should be physically active for at least 60 minutes every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try incorporating activities that make kids \u2018puff\u2019, and build strength, into your day. For example, a few minutes of dancing before dinner, playing \u2018chasey\u2019 or \u2018tip\u2019, and scootering to the shops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to raisingchildren.net.au, busy work schedules, lack of space and screen time \u2014 on devices such as TVs and tablets \u2014 can get in the way of physical activity. If you can\u2019t get out to a park, consider talking to neighbours with young children about sharing the supervision of play time outside or in a safe street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It may not be the most popular holiday activity, but it\u2019s important. More than half of Australian 6-year-olds have some tooth decay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Children need a dental check at least once a year from the age of 12 months, or within 6 months of their first tooth appearing. Medicare covers the cost of dental services for some children; you can check whether your child is eligible on the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) website. Some families use private health insurance to pay some or all of their dental costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FIND A HEALTH SERVICE<\/strong> \u2014 The Service Finder<\/strong> can help you find doctors, dentists, pharmacies and other health services near you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Geocaching is a real-life, outdoor treasure hunt. You follow GPS (global positioning system) coordinates on your GPS-enabled device (such as a mobile phone) to find a \u2018geocache\u2019 (a container) hidden at that location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside the geocache is a logbook and \u2018treasure\u2019, which might include inexpensive small toys, ornamental buttons, books or interesting coins. Your child can take one of the treasures and replace it with something of equal value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To get started, register for free at Geocaching.com. Don\u2019t forget: comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen, a hat, a pen, water, healthy snacks and something to leave inside the geocache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n School holidays can be the perfect opportunity for kids to master their freestyle \u2014 or simply build their confidence in the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is particularly important for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who are at greater risk of drowning than the general population. This is, says Austism Awareness Australia, because children with ASD are more likely to wander and be attracted to water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find a swimming instructor who\u2019s specially trained in coaching kids with ASD at Autism Swim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kids need more sleep than adults, which facilitates their growth, learning and development. Getting a solid night\u2019s sleep can make your child happier, help them concentrate and improve their behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s tempting to stay out later in the school holidays \u2014 and the odd late night for a special occasion is unlikely to cause harm \u2014 try to stick to their normal bedtime routine and encourage your child to get enough sleep for their age:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Download the Sleep Health Foundation\u2019s Sleep Clock activity to help your children get enough sleep. (It will also give them another thing to do in the holidays \u2014 a bonus.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t need to amuse your kids every minute of the school holidays \u2014 boredom is good for children. By pushing through boredom and entertaining themselves, kids learn to think more creatively and hone their problem-solving skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re also able to choose activities that match their mood. If your child\u2019s feeling energetic, they\u2019ll be physically active; if they\u2019re tired, they may find a restful thing to do. Boredom also promotes resilience, as they learn to get through something that, to a child, can feel tough or stressful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Millions of Aussie kids are about to go on school holidays. If your child is one of them, you may be grappling for new ways to amuse them. Look no further. Here are 7 ideas for healthy holiday activities, which…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions\/60"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/answerfaqpro.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Be active for at least 1 hour<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Take them to the dentist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Go on a geocaching adventure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Schedule swim time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Let them sleep<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Let them be bored<\/h3>\n\n\n\n