With all the video games and computer games and sedentary pastimes out there enticing our kids to sit and stare at a screen we have to work harder these days to insure that your kids get enough physical activity to stay fit and healthy.
Fitness for Kids to Maintain Health
Childhood obesity is reaching epic proportions. There are more and more children spending countless hours in front of a television or computer screen and doing less physical activity. Combine this sedentary lifestyle with the massive amounts of unhealthy junk foods out there today and we have a recipe for disaster for our kids’ physical health.
Fitness for Kids Begins at Home
By starting to teach your kids good habits of physical fitness and good nutrition during their youth, you are giving them a great start that will continue on throughout their lives.
Involving the whole family teaches your child that good health is a priority. Lead by example. Evaluate what you and your spouse do for exercise and what you eat. You cannot tell a child one thing and do another and expect them to just do it.
Encourage your children to engage in activities to improve or maintain their physical fitness. This can be school sports or fun family activities at home. Walks, bike rides and hiking. Kids love to swim and that is fantastic exercise. If you want your kid to exercise you are going to have to be inventive and make it enjoyable or they are simply not going to do it.
Some Suggestions for Fitness for Kids
Remember you may have to get creative to help your kids get fit and stay that way. Here are some tips to get you started.
- Encourage afterschool activities and support any sports they want to participate in. This can include sports teams, cheerleading, dance class, drill team, band and any other activity that gets them moving.
- Limit computer and television times. If your child is stuck inside on a rainy day you might consider family activities that require physical movement. Today there are even video games in which you actually do more than hold a controller and push a button. If they have to play video games, encourage those types.
- Instead of driving your child everywhere, walk or ride a bicycle with them to their destination. It is good for them and you, not to mention good for the environment as well!
- Join a family gym to encourage sports like swimming, tennis, racquetball, basketball or just working out on the equipment.
- Take family vacations that involve activity such as hiking, camping, kayaking, tours or parks and zoos and even amusement parks. They will be having so much fun they won’t even realize they are getting fit!
- Clean out the pantry and replenish it with healthy snacks. Cook healthy meals in healthy ways. What your child eats growing up is what they will eat as adults. By teaching them to eat healthy now you are setting a pattern for health and fitness that will last their lifetime.
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