ummer’s lengthy days give us an extra measure of time to savor the beauty unfolding in front of our eyes. With increased daylight hours, the earth warms more each day, creating the perfect conditions for plant life to practically burst at the seams! Every living thing is in a race to grow to its fullness, to fill the earth with its kind. The rapid growth is impressive, and reminds us of all that’s possible when conditions are ripe.

As we enter the autumn months, we begin a season of harvest and reaping what we’ve sown throughout the year. This is not only true for our plants and our gardens, but for ourselves and our families. We begin the journey back to the holiday season. The days begin to grow shorter, we retreat into the warmth of our homes, and we celebrate with the people that matter most — and celebrate we should!

During these months, it can be easy to let habits slide or growth stagnate, but just as each season plays a necessary role in the renewal of the earth, it also plays a necessary role in our families. It is obvious that if you are a reader of Homeschooling Today, you view your family economy and time with intention. One of the most intentional and proactive things you can do for your children is to understand how important health is — not just for education, but for the development of whole and complete persons. Health is a lifelong commitment to nourishing and flourishing that begins in the home.

Even though most of us know this intuitively, it can be challenging. We’re busy and life moves all too quickly. It is easy to say that we can figure it out when things slow down, but there is a timeless truth that life is always ready to hand you fresh challenges, and these challenges never come at a convenient time. That being said, the journey to health doesn’t happen all at once, and it absolutely shouldn’t add undue stress—which is also harmful to our health. The journey to health begins with small steps and building confidence in your capabilities. It starts with making incremental, intentional decisions that benefit your family.

A healthy lifestyle leads to a healthy family, and a healthy family rests on these three pillars: clean eating, adequate movement, and purpose. It is never a bad time to focus on these pillars. Health is essential to raising a new generation that won’t be held back by preventable illness.

Food is the foundation of health, so we have to be honest with ourselves about whether we are feeding our families the right foods to support healthy bodies. I see many parents, even those who eat well themselves, take the approach that what their kids eat doesn’t matter as much. They reason that while their kids are young and have no obvious health issues, they can just allow the kids to eat anything. Some believe that as long as they aren’t seeing the effects of an unbalanced diet heavy in sugars, their young children are doing just fine because they can always adjust later if symptoms arise.

The reality is this: our current choices set the stage for a child’s lifetime. Research and experience show that a healthy foundation built in childhood gives children a strong advantage throughout their entire lifespan. Even if they fade away from healthy eating and abuse their bodies at some stage later in their life (as may be the case during their teen years), the healthy foundation gives lifelong benefits. It is, however, much more difficult for children who’ve only known poor eating habits from the start to climb out of those habits and attain good health. You may have experienced this yourself, as I have. Giving your children good eating habits from the beginning is a gift that they will reap for a lifetime.

On the exercise front, the human body requires movement! We were MADE to move! All of us, but especially children, need to be active every day to support optimum health. Many societal norms these days keep children sedentary. They spend most of their daylight hours sitting at a desk in school, they spend too much time on screens or have an addiction to electronics, and there’s a lack of outdoor chores or playtime. All of these place severe limits on our physical activity. The problem with the modern way of doing things is that we have a basic and physiological need to move! Movement improves blood flow to the brain and supports circulation to enhance our body’s natural function. Exercise improves energy levels, focus, development, metabolism, mental health, self-confidence, sleep, and more. It is not just a way to shed and keep off extra pounds.

Families can take small steps to add movement to their daily rituals—even if this simply means planning a ten-minute walk after dinner or encouraging outdoor play for an hour in the mornings instead of placing the children in front of a television, iPad, or a video game. These small steps lead to monumental improvements in your family’s health. Structure your lifestyle and days so that you and your children are active with physical labor, chores, sports, and hobbies.

Looking at health from a holistic perspective also means that we take our family’s emotional and spiritual health seriously, and that is what makes up the final pillar of a healthy lifestyle: finding and understanding your life’s purpose. Are your kids engaged, or are they depressed and withdrawn? From what I’ve observed, it seems to me that depression in a child is often either food-related or the emotional price that comes from a lack of purpose.

Our emotional health also profoundly affects our physical health, and a downturn in emotions or lack of purpose can literally create physical problems in the body. With that in mind, we must encourage kids—and ourselves—to continually seek out what they are to do in this beautiful world and discover their unique purpose. All of us need to be involved in this journey of serving others and sharing our unique gifts with our family, our community, and our world. Whether through community service, religious activities, sports, or personal goals, our purpose is to serve our community, and our kids need to discover this truth to be truly fulfilled.

Viktor Frankl was a psychologist who survived years in a concentration camp during World War II. According to Frankl’s observation and the research he did after the war, he believed that finding purpose in life is the fundamental driver of human behavior. In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, which details his time during the war, he noticed the most peculiar thing: those who were focused more on serving and loving others did better than those who withdrew into themselves. As an example, even with the limited amount of bread they were given, those who shared with others in more dire need were able to better withstand the suffering. His argument is that taking these intentional, sacrificial steps provided meaning for them, and these people tended to have a better chance of surviving. Their physical health was supported by living their purpose. In serving others, you serve yourself. In fulfilling your purpose, you, by nature, help other people fulfill theirs.

As the seasons begin to change and the lengthened hours of light and sunshine on your back begin to turn to the chilly and cozy nights of autumn, take a look at your harvest — whether that be a literal garden or just the laughter of children playing in the yard — and remember that, in ideal conditions, incredible growth is possible. The conditions you nurture for your children will significantly affect their development, so remember the three pillars of good health: healthy food, plentiful exercise, and purpose.