Life has become a vicious circle of running from one place to the next, especially for two-income families. No longer is the mother at home all day to run the children to all of their different events. She has become dependent on friends or relatives to assist with the carpooling, and when she comes home from work, rushes to throw something together for dinner before taking the children to yet another function in which they are involved. It’s a never-ending circle of running here and running there, and somewhere along the line, the family’s wellness has taken a backseat. That doesn’t mean she is a bad parent; it just means that she needs to learn to prioritize her life a little differently.

How does one change the lifestyle that they have become used to living? How do you slow down in order to make the wellness of your family a top priority? Of course, you don’t want to tell your children that they cannot attend after school activities because they interfere with healthy eating, but what you can do is learn to change the way you feed your family. If you have gotten into the habit of stopping on the way home from work to pick up fast food on the nights the children have after school or evening activities, find a different way of feeding your family. Get into the habit of preparing the family meal the night before so that all you have to do when you come home from work is put it in the microwave. Even better, you can put it into individual servings, and the children can heat their own when they come home or while you are getting out of work clothes to prepare to take them to the places they need to be. Another key issue is to get your spouse into the habit of starting dinner, and make it a rule that the first person home starts dinner. If you have already prepared the meal, it should be easy for him to just put it in the oven or in the microwave. The failure of the head of the house to help with the dinner preparation is one of the key issues that contribute to poor eating habits, especially if the female in the home doesn’t get home until 5:30 – 6:00 in the evening.

Becoming involved in a fitness and wellness center is certainly a worthwhile activity, and a good way to promote family wellness, but it must be combined with other healthy habits as well: nutritionally balanced meals, regular exercise, healthier snacks, and most importantly, a lifestyle that is slower paced. Learning to eat healthier and change the way you live will generate more energy and thus, promote wellness for you and your family. To be constantly on the go is not healthy for you or you family, so the first issue is to learn to slow down. Don’t let your children participate in every single activity that they think may be of interest. Sit down with them, discuss a schedule, and allow them to pick the activities that are the most important. If you have a teenager who already has a driver’s license, obtain his or her assistance in transporting the younger children to their activities – this is assuming the teenager does not have a job or has some free evenings. Maintaining the wellness of the entire family requires the cooperation of everyone in the household, up to and including the children.