During a pandemic like now, I don’t know when it will end, so I pay more attention to the health of family members. Moreover, I have toddlers who are not yet as immune as adults. Fortunately, my small family is rarely sick. So from that this time I want to share some tips on how to maintain family health that is implemented by us.
1. Keeping the Environment, Food and Air Clean
Maintaining cleanliness seems very trivial but it is very important to maintain health and prevent various kinds of viruses and bacteria that cause dangerous diseases. Starting from taking care of the environment around to the food we eat.
No less important is the cleanliness of the air. I am grateful because I live in a place where the air is clean and far from major highways so there is not much air pollution.
If there are family members who smoke, you should stay away from home and family members. Cigarette smoke is very dangerous. Do not let us endanger our own family. I’m sorry about the experience of my best friend’s mother.
All family and friends see him as a person who adheres to a healthy lifestyle. But because work requires him to be in an environment where the majority of smokers are. It felt so unfair when he got lung cancer.
2. Eat healthy and nutritious food
To grow well and be able to do activities, of course we need a healthy and nutritious diet. Start consuming vegetable carbohydrates, side dishes, and fruit every day. By cooking our own food we can get better nutrition than ready-to-eat food because we can choose and process what ingredients we will put in ourselves. In addition, ready-to-eat food also usually contains more salt.
When snacking outside, don’t forget to pay attention to food hygiene. Try to avoid exposed food and fly infestation. For children’s snack needs, you can try making snacks at home or buy snacks that are healthier.
3. Immunizations and Vaccines According to Doctor’s Recommendations
In my opinion, vaccines and immunizations seem to be very effective in increasing immunity in children and adults. Even though vaccines are not to make us 100% immune, at least we have tried our best so that when we get sick the symptoms will be lighter.
My child includes complete vaccines and immunizations. My husband and I have also been vaccinated 3x during this pandemic. With vaccines we not only protect ourselves but also protect our environment from the spread of dangerous viruses.
4. Enough Rest
Sometimes the demands of the workload make us have to stay up late but if we keep doing it it can sacrifice our health. Try to find ways and solutions to make activities more effective and productive. Remember health must be number one.
In the past, I often stayed up late to play games, but since having children, I started reducing it so that I had enough rest and could accompany my children to play. Waking up early in my daily life also makes me more productive and can sleep soundly.
5. Regular Exercise
It’s better to exercise lightly but regularly than hard but rarely. The easiest exercise is running in the morning because it doesn’t require special equipment and preparation. If I usually go for a morning walk with my children, I will stop by the playground.
6. Pay attention to mental health
Now, some of the younger generation are paying more attention to mental health. The demands of work and heavy achievements usually make them call holidays healing. To maintain the mental health of my family, I try to be more grateful, less demanding, and not to compare with other people.
Sometimes we actually live well enough but feel less just because we compare it to others. Likewise with the age targets that must be married, have children, have a position etc. We should avoid things that are not good for mental health. Likewise the environment is not good.
We need to pay attention to mental health because mental health such as stress and depression can also affect our physical health and quality of life.
Those are my simple steps to keep my family healthy. In addition to adopting a healthy lifestyle, don’t forget to be a happy person because a happy mother makes the family happier too.