Activities for Families

Physical Activity and Your Children

As parents or guardians, it is important to understand that most habits are formed early in life. Being physically active is no exception. Children as young as three or four who are less active tend to stay less active throughout their childhood and into adulthood.

In order to teach your child the value of being physically active, it is up to you to help make physical activity an important part of his or her daily routine – just like bathing or getting dressed. According to The Council on Physical Education for Children, "Childhood is the time to begin the development of active, healthy lifestyles. The development of skills, knowledge and attitudes leading to active, healthy lifestyles must be taught. Placing the child on the road to a lifetime of movement should begin early to ensure a lifetime of good health."

There are a lot of ways you can encourage your child to be active every day. By following some of these important guidelines, you can help your child begin to form healthy habits for life.

• Be a Good Role Model - Children learn by watching. Being physically active is one of the most important things you can do to increase your child's activity behaviors. Parental physical activity patterns and the time parents spend with their child being active are two of the most influential factors in a child's participation in physical activity.
  
  
• Be Positive About Physical Activity - If your child sees or hears you express enthusiasm about being physically active, he or she is more likely to adopt a positive attitude about activity. On the other hand, if you are complaining about it, your child is likely to internalize your negative views and be reluctant to engage in activity.
  
  
• Offer Choices and Be Creative - Variety is a key factor in making physical activity fun. Offer several options, and let your child choose the activity he or she would like to do. If he or she gets bored with one activity, mix it up. Your child does not need to do the same exact activity every day to stay healthy. The goal simply is to be active in some way.

Winter Activities

Being active in the winter can be a challenging task. Fortunately, there are many indoor and outdoor options for you to be physically active with your child no matter what month it is. Listed below are some ideas about how to fill your house with active fun, and don’t forget to use your imagination.

• Twister®: It is fun, easy and inexpensive, and the whole family can play.
• Follow-the-Leader: With you in the lead, take the kids up the stairs, around the furniture and under the kitchen table.
• Simon Says: Have your children jump, run, hop on one foot, swing their arms in circles or do jumping jacks.
• Duck-Duck-Goose and Musical Chairs: These two games are great for groups of three or more kids, because they’ll be running in circles to win – perfect for when you do not have a large yard to use.
• Turbo Toy Clean-Up: Have the kids compete to see who can clean up their toys the fastest. They’ll love trying to win, and it helps their parents as well.
• Tag: This classic game is guaranteed to give you and the kids a great workout.
• Hula Hoop: In addition to being a great way to get moving, this activity also teaches coordination and rhythm.
• Sit-and-Spin and Bouncy-Ball: Both are kid favorites, sure to entertain.

Create a Family Room "Fitness Center"

Are your kids glued to the couch on a cold, winter day? You can convert your family room into a fun fitness center. Create an obstacle course on the floor out of pillows, hold your own family dance party, try a kid-friendly exercise video from your local library or video store or hold a hula hoop or jump rope contest. There are a lot of games you can play even staying in one room, so be creative.

Get Out of the House

As long as it is not dangerously cold outside, throw on the hats and gloves, and take a family walk. When you are moving around outside it isn’t nearly as cold. Playing in the snow is a great way to be active, not to mention kids have a blast sledding or building a snowman. If you want to stay inside but get out of the house, contact your local YMCA or community recreation center to find out what types of physical activities they offer.

Additional Activity Options for Youngsters

Looking for even more choices for your child? Try some of these DVDs and interactive methods:

• Exercise DVDs<
• Elmocize
• Barney's "Exercise Circus"
• Move 'N Groove Kids DVDs
• Mini-Muscles with Cindy Crawford

There are many tapes geared toward kids that teach yoga, Tae-Bo, aerobics, kickboxing and dancing. Visit your local video store or library to find one your youngster enjoys.