Good health habits get started at an early age.

As parents we sometimes struggle between being overly protective and not careful enough. This tends to be more evident as our little ones become more independent and we find ourselves nagging all the time.

Like everything else in life, there needs to be a balance in this area too. But one thing is certain, and that is that healthy habits should never be compromised because these habits will stay with our little ones for the rest of their lives.

As our babies grow older teaching them to wash their hands before dinner is a healthy habit, but healthy habits go far and beyond washing your hands and eating your veggies. For example, getting a good night sleep might not be considered a habit, but it should become a habit when we understand the benefits. Especially when our babies get past the infant stage.

During the infant stage a good night sleep is not possible or even expected. At this stage other factors such as breastfeeding and changing diapers become the norm. But soon after, the task of instilling healthy habits in our babies begin.

Teaching healthy habits to our children at an early age is a sound way to instill the importance of hygiene and how to prevent illness and disease. Kids will be kids and getting sick will be unavoidable, especially when they start going to school and get exposed to germs and colds. But good health habits will go a long way in minimizing the risk in the long run.

What's the best way to teach our kids these healthy habits? Well, it can be summarized into one short sentence... "practice what you preach." It's not enough to preach one thing and practice another. I can remember as a kid my father telling me not to smoke because it's bad for you while he was puffing away. At that young age I could rationalize that something was wrong with that picture.

Whether it's teaching our kids to eat healthy, stay active or keep clean, remember that they're watching every move we make and teaching by example is the most powerful technique to learn life's lessons.