As a parent, it is important to encourage children to be physically active. A child should try to do at least 40–60 minutes of exercise each day. To achieve this goal, plan some family togetherness time. Here are some easy ways to reach that goal together.
Treat your dog to daily walks that include the entire family.
Check out physical participation video games. Nintendo Wii games for example, enables the family to play tennis, bowling, baseball, skateboarding, and snowboarding. If the children are swinging a bat or dancing, it’s great.
Be sure to include bone-strengthening exercise as well, such as hopscotch, jumping rope, gymnastics, or volleyball, any “weight-bearing” activity.
Make going to the park a reward for a job well done, a good test grade, or anything that deserves a positive reward. When you get there, play a fast game of Frisbee or toss a football.
Plan a day trip or visit a nearby zoo. A bike makes a great gift for every family member, as does a basketball hoop in the driveway and cricket pitch in the back yard.
Lace up your walking shoes and join the kids for a brisk walk to and from school each day.
Take the kids to the playground to swing on the bars, climb a tree, or play tug-of-war.
Learn a new activity. Take a class together, such as martial arts, dance or yoga.
Go with the flow. If your child shows interest in some activity, such as dancing, encourage it.
Plant a garden. Whether you choose fruit and vegetables or just some pretty flowers everyone will get some exercise digging, planting and weeding. The whole family can enjoy the fruits of their labour.
If any of your family experience pain when exercising, contact us. When an adult or child has been leading a sedentary lifestyle, the muscles, tendons and other soft tissue are not conditioned to sudden bouts of exercise and can be easily torn or damaged.