How to help your kids love fitness?
We all want what’s best for our kids. We want them to grow up to be veggie-eating, physical-fitness loving adults. But sometimes the path to getting there can be a little challenging. When it comes to fitness, it can be sometimes hard to help your child find a sport or activity that they actually love. For some parents, it may mean enrolling your child in four to five different activities before you find the right fit.
Benefits of staying physically active
Being physically active means moving enough to breathe heavily, be short of breath, feel warm, and sweat. Exercise is vital to the health and well-being of children. Physical activity helps build and maintains healthy bones, muscles, and joints, for example. It can help keep a healthy body mass index and reduce the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease later in life. It can help children fall asleep quickly and sleep well.
Beyond benefits to the body, physical activity also boosts a child’s mental and behavioral health. It increases a child’s enthusiasm and optimism and boosts self-esteem, school performance, attention and behavior. It also reduces anxiety, tension and depression. It can also fosters teamwork and friendship when it’s part of an organized sport.
So what motivates kids?
So there’s a lot to gain from regular physical activity, but how do you encourage kids to do it? The three keys are:
- Choosing the right activities for a child’s age: If you don’t, the child may be bored or frustrated.
- Giving kids plenty of opportunity to be active: Kids need parents to make activity easy by providing equipment, signing them up for classes or sports teams, and taking them to playgrounds and other active spots.
- Keeping the focus on fun: Kids won’t do something they don’t enjoy.
Put action in your lifestyle
Regular physical activity is just as important to a healthful lifestyle as smart eating. Apply the same principles of variety, balance and moderation to both your food choices and your physical activities.
- Variety. Enjoy many different activities to move different muscles, such as power walking for your heart and leg muscles, gardening for arm muscles and sit-ups for abdominal muscles.
- Balance. Because different activities have different benefits, balance your physical activity pattern. For overall fitness, choose activities that build cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, bone strength, balance and flexibility.
- Moderation. Move enough to keep fit without overdoing it. At least 30 minutes (60 minutes for children and teens) of moderate physical activity most, and preferably all, days of the week will do.
9 Ways to get started
- Help your child move early- It’s never too late to start but it’s also never too early. With infant massage and exercises you can make moving a natural part of your child’s day right from the beginning.
- Build physical activity into your family’s daily routine- Do some form of physical activity together. It could be taking a walk, playing catch, riding bikes or having a dance party. Try starting with 15 minutes every day.
- Show your kids how you are physically active in your own life- Do you run, practice yoga, play tennis, walk the dog, or workout at the gym? Being an active role model for your kids is one of the best things you can do to encourage them to be active. If you aren’t very active, it’s never too late for you to start, either.
- Choose to walk or bike instead of drive- Whenever possible get kids moving instead of sitting in a car. If there is a safe route, have them walk or bike to school on a daily basis (if they’re too young to go on their own walk or bike with them).
- Expose your kids to a wide variety of activities and sports- Kids who specialize early in a specific sport can get burned out and injured. It’s important to let them try lots of different things so that they can develop a wide range of skills and find out what they enjoy.
- Praise but don’t push- Notice when your child is enjoying an activity and cheer them on. Always keep things positive from the sidelines so they understand that you value what they are doing but that you aren’t so invested in it that they feel pressure.
- Focus on fun- Most kids aren’t ready for competition until they are ten and up. For kids under ten, fun activities and non-competitive games keep things stress-free and allow them to have success no matter what their skill level.
- Spend time outdoors- It used to be that going outside was the default move for any bored child. And going outside almost guarantees some form of physical activity. These days there are a lot of distractions that can keep kids inside and occupied for hours. It’s up to us as parents to create lots of opportunities for them to play outside.
- Choose a childcare center or preschool that incorporates physical activity- Parents should look for a childcare center that dedicates time to encouraging age-appropriate movement every day. Little kids need lots of opportunities to move and develop basic skills like running, jumping, hopping, skipping, etc.
Don’t forget to fuel your activity!
Once you get your family moving, remember to fuel up for activities or sports. Drink plenty of water before, during and after activities. Children need to drink at least six to eight glasses of water per day. For longer activities or when children don’t drink enough water, diluted 100% fruit juice or sports drinks can increase their fluid intake.
For a snack before or after physical activities, serve crackers and cheese, peanut butter sandwich, trail mix, fruit yogurt, containers of cut-up fruit and sliced vegetables with a low-fat dip.
Exercise along with a balanced diet provides the foundation for a healthy, active life. One of the most important things parents can do is encourage healthy habits in their children early in life. It is not too late to start. Ask your child’s health practitioner about tools for healthy living today.
References-
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/kids-and-exercise/faq-20058336
https://www.webmd.com/parenting/raising-fit-kids/move/ss/slideshow-kids-love-exercise
https://www.eatright.org/fitness/exercise/family-activities/make-fitness-fun-for-the-whole-family
