Jeanne Kennedy Crosby, D.C.: Blog

      “Please secure your own mask before assisting your child.” This familiar phrase from the flight attendants’ safety instructions prior to takeoff is a metaphor for how we can work on our own life issues first and then act as an example to support our loved ones to make a change.
    It’s true that real health comes from the inside, but it starts with the effort you put in it from the outside. Diet and lifestyle discipline like avoiding sugar, going to bed at a time that allows adequate sleep for body repair, and good habits like exercise and flossing your teeth are a practice. No one is born into this life just doing these things, you learn and practice them. Children are often unaware of the benefits of healthful practices. Many adults are forced to change by negative experiences like sickness, exhaustion, and the expense of having to fix something that’s broken.
    It can be too overwhelming to try to manage the household in a way that promotes positive changes without outside support. Sometimes things have reached a crisis level and there is already a health problem that needs immediate attention. It is advisable to get that support to change the direction of a problem, but it must start with you and your health habits.
    When you observe your children or your spouse developing self-destructive patterns that you would like to see changed, recognize that it may take some time, depending on the individual. Your efforts that you make to improve your own life will make an impression. Developing good routines like grocery shopping, cooking meals at home, getting enough sleep, and other foundational habits are taught by example.