Healthy families don’t compete with one another. You play an important role as a guide and coach for your children as they make choices about eating. And the effect your actions have can be profound. For example, research has shown that just eating together as a family can improve children’s nutritional health. Healthy families, however, do not let this influence the basic ways in which they treat and interact with other family members. In these families, each person’s worthiness is viewed as equal.

They make time for relaxation at the end of the day, incorporating some family yoga, mindfulness practice, or even just reading a story together at bedtime with your younger ones. Make sure that everyone is checking in with and then addressing their stress levels, as this benefits both physical and mental health

In families who shared at least three meals a week, children were 24 per cent more likely to be eating healthy foods than those in families who ate few or no meals together. The children were also 12 per cent less likely to be overweight, 20 per cent less likely to eat unhealthy foods and 35 per cent less likely to engage in dangerous weight-loss efforts like purging, taking diet pills and laxatives, or vomiting. We all know at least one of these families: they’re superfit, they eat healthfully, they stay active together, and their go-to dessert is fresh fruit.

Healthy, happy families find a way for each child to stand out within the family. They identify their talent and find activities in which they can find success. Healthy families set a culture around being grateful for the things you appreciate in life, big and small. Set up a sacred space where, at the end of each day, each family member shares what they are grateful for. This sets up an atmosphere of appreciation and good vibes in the house that all can benefit from.

Caring for an elderly loved one is a wonderful way to show compassion and service, and it doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice everything. Healthy families have boundaries with ageing parents and grandparents. They thoroughly think through the potential impact of moving an ageing parent into the home or providing extended care. Kids and marriages can be powerfully impacted by how these decisions are handled, both negatively and positively.

Here are some vital habits practised by families that function well and are mostly happy:

• Ensure that most foods in your home are healthy
• Know what you can and cannot control
• Express emotions intelligently
• Have meals as a family
• Set clear boundaries
• Function as a team
• Have a shared value system
• Practice kindness and compassion
• Be intelligent with conflict resolution
• Promote and practice acceptance of self and others

Healthy families recognise that their members aren’t perfect, will make mistakes, and can at least accept (if not associate with) the imperfections of others. If you need help ensuring a healthy diet for your child or adolescent, consult with a psychologist or other licensed mental health professional. He or she can help you identify problem areas and then develop a plan for changing them.

Safety is always a concern, and so parents should make it a priority to have open discussions with each other and with children in an age-appropriate way about how to stay safe. Whether it is the position a baby sleeps in, immunisations to prevent illnesses, children playing with fireworks, teens with drugs or sex, drinking and driving, or other hot-button issues, the constant theme is that a safety plan is an important part of good health.

Schedule a weekly family meeting to discuss the upcoming week and what went well or did not the previous week. This allows the family to touch base and teach the children communication skills. Go over the family calendar for the upcoming week and find places where you can work in healthy choices, like going for a family walk on a less busy evening or packing healthy meals ahead for busy days.

In healthy families, people actively and conscientiously learn and practice emotional regulation. None of us “has it together” all the time, but even when we “lose it”, healthy families do not resort to remarks laced with contempt, verbal, emotional, relational, or physical abuse when expressing their emotions. When you increase the family activity level with a trip to the beach, a hike or a bike ride, not only are you getting physical exercise, which is key for good overall health, Orma says, but the family also gets more time together to bond.

Try one small change at a time:

1. They organise their schedules around good health
2. They wind down together at the end of the day
3. They make meal prep a fun family activity
4. They have a great dinner conversation
5. They prioritise happiness over having
6. They cultivate an attitude of gratitude
7. They know how to keep exercise fun
8. They get outside and play together
9. They visit nearby theme parks
10. They manage stress together
11. They Have No-Phone Zones
12. They Rethink Snacktime
13. They don’t go hungry
14. They dream big
15. They fight fair
16. They go for swims
17. They cook together
18. They grow a family garden
19. They fill up the “love tank”
20. They have screen-free days
21. They take strolls as a family
22. They talk frankly about money
23. They see the best in each other
24. They have regular family councils
25. They tell little ones a bedtime story
26. They celebrate each other’s victories
27. They care for their elders in a loving way
28. They praise progress, not just achievement
29. They support each other in their health goals
30. They turn off the devices when they’re together

Practising psychologists are experts in behaviour change and use a variety of evidence-based techniques and treatments to help people improve their lives. Psychologists, who have doctoral degrees, receive one of the highest levels of education of any healthcare professionals. On average, they spend seven years in education and training following their undergraduate degrees. Making dinner and having a meal as a family should be much more than just cooking and eating.

Happiness may not seem like a health issue, but it is. Happier people are more likely to be motivated to change behaviours to improve their health. Happier kids do better in school. It is important to recognise the spiritual rather than the material roots of happiness. Happy people generally are more forgiving, more appreciative of what they have and most importantly, they derive meaning from what they do in life. And when families are happy, they generally practice healthier behaviours toward diet and exercise, which also leads to better health.

They spend time together on activities that don’t involve electronics. While watching TV together can be relaxing and offer opportunities for teachable moments, it’s important to identify activities in which everyone can participate on their own level and also promote conversation. These family activities create tangible bonds as well as lasting memories. Pick a time when you can all be together to spend quality time connecting. Dinner time is an obvious time to sit down and enjoy a meal together, along with each other’s company.

Developing a good practice into a good habit is just a matter of making the behaviour routine. To keep your family on track toward healthy living, try getting a calendar and putting it in a place where everyone in the family can see. Almost all experts suggest that families eat meals together. “Not only is it about quality time,”

Healthy families tend to share a few key values, namely regular social companionship and upholding themselves as high-functioning, well-adjusted members of society. These shared values give them a sense of how to go through the world, and a sense of belonging to their family.