Education on health-damaging habits, such as smoking, can also begin at a very early age and probably has the best effect when your children can see plainly that you yourself, for example, don’t smoke.

Positive health influences can take many different forms, from promoting a healthy diet to making an effort to organize family- group activities on a regular basis. Bike rides or walks to the woods, for example, that allow you to spend time together as a family, will set a pattern for later in life.