Most children are plopped in front of a television or tapping away at a tablet while at home, so physical exercise is little to none. There is a way for the whole family to get in to the groove of being active. Family fitness can become a routine within days and encourage the parents and the children to be more active.
Childhood obesity is a serious factor that debilitates a child’s life. One key to getting your kids in to a healthier lifestyle is to start early. Eating properly coupled with a more active lifestyle can lead to a happier child overall. Being active is for losing weight, but also for reducing stress.
Make family fitness a priority in your home. Get the whole family involved and plan and cook meals filled with nutrition. Cut back on fast food and delivery food. Get up, get activ,e and jump in to some family fitness activities. Below is our list on how to start incorporating exercise in to your family’s routine.
1. Go for a walk.
You can always put time in for a walk. Do this before dinner or after dinner. You can make this a cruise around the neighborhood or head to a specific location, but the walk will get the blood pumping and the body moving. If you have smaller ones they can alternate between the stroller and walking.
2. Pump up the volume.
Turn on some music and dance! This is something you can easily do at home and it requires no preparation. Move the furniture to the side, turn on the music, and dance. You could also make this extra special with a disco light or flashing lights for your family club of fitness. This is an easy activity to get caught up in. All age levels will enjoy dancing.
3. Clean up!
Pretend that you need to save the house from dust or that you are putting out fires by sweeping. Use your imagination and your child will come up with the rest. Your child should be the hero who saves the day, or the room, from the horrible trash that is piling up in the kitchen. There are plenty of story lines that can be formed. Use your imagination and add a broom, dust pan, and other household tools to get cleaning.
4. Turn TV commercials into fitness breaks.
Since the children are going to watch television, make it interactive. Every commercial break make it a family fitness break. Get up and do exercises such as sit ups or squats. Do these exercises until the show comes back on. That makes for a rush of doing as many as you can within that few minutes.
You could also name the sit ups to match the name of the show. For example, Princess Sit Ups.
5. Sports Night at Home
Once per week get everyone in the house moving. This involves using cards that state exercises. Each family member chooses a card and does what it says. Do this until all cards are dealt.
6. Go for a bike ride.
Just as with walking together before or after dinner, you can also take a bike ride together. Taking a ride on a bike is fun and you can play follow the leader. For the younger ones, get an attached child bike seat so that they can enjoy the great outdoors attached to the bike.
7. Walk or run for a charity.
Show your values and exercise them by joining a charity to walk or run to raise money for a cause. Giving back is another way of showing your kids how to be model citizens. Team up with your children and walk or run. Family fitness can be competitive too. There are usually many races that you can join in such as 3K runs or a race for a cure or to help an organization. Even if you or your little ones do not win, you will have a lot of fun participating. These types of races happen annually so you could make this a family tradition.
8. Get in your yard.
Do you have a lot of leaves in the yard? If so, this is the perfect time to rake them up. Make this a game and see who can rake the largest pile of leaves. Or, see who can find the reddest leaf or the yellowest one that has fallen.
Once you have your piles make certain to jump in to them. You can also cover each other with the leaves. Family fitness is all about creating memories too.
If this is not the time of year for leaves, snow works as a family fitness activity too. After the snow falls children can help to clear the walkway. You can also make snow angels. Don’t forget to build a few snowmen and have a contest for the silliest snowman. Afterwards, throw snowballs.
9. Play in the dirt.
Kids are the best at playing in the dirt. Give them a pile of it and their imaginations soar. There is plenty to do in the garden when it comes to dirt. Let your child turn over the soil before its time to start planting.
If you plant things to eat you will also make it more appealing to want to eat the vegetables. Getting dirty is fun family fitness time.
In the summertime you can turn on the sprinklers in the garden and run through the sprinklers.
10. Walk the dog.
If you have a dog he or she is a part of the family too. Allow the dog to join in. Allow your children to walk the dog. This can be a fun daily outing for everyone.
Walking the dog gives an instant companion who will encourage you to take a walk. Dogs are great companions when it comes to family fitness.
There are going to other ways to jump in to some family fitness. Be creative and create your own. You can turn everyday mundane activities in to something centered around fitness. It’s for your family’s health!
