Kids can seem full of boundless energy when they’re small but, as they grow up, that energy can taper off a little, especially if they get into the habit of spending more time watching TV or playing video games. However, you can help your kids stay healthy by making them more enthusiastic about staying active on a daily basis. Here are a few ways to help your kids stay excited to work out.
Play with them
Simply put, play is the way that kids first work off all that energy and, as they get older, their opportunities for play might be diminished because of more things taking up their time like school, homework, and chores. However, if you enjoy some physically active play with them, then you can keep them in the habit of moving around more. You can easily transition this into joint exercise such as going for walks together with them and the like, later.
Advertisement - Story continues below
Request advertising info. View All.
Team sports can be a big help
Kids have a natural tendency to find ways to enjoy themselves socially. While some might be more introverted, we’re all hard-wired to have a need for at least some interaction with others, especially those their age. As such, finding them opportunities to participate in team sports, even if they can’t get into them at school, such as soccer camps for kids, can be a big help in making exercise a habit of theirs. It can also help them develop those key traits associated with team sports, such as fair play, discipline, and motivation to excel.
Find what they find fun
Some kids are going to naturally gravitate towards sports based on what they like. If your kid loves going to the swimming pool, for instance, then try to make a regular thing out of it and see if you can get them involved in a local swimming club. If they’re a bit more rambunctious and love action, you can make use of that while teaching them some discipline and control with martial arts classes for kids. Simply put, the better that you try to fit the form of fitness that you get into with them into their current likes, the better your chances of success.
Make it part of their daily life
Simply put, if you ensure that your child’s daily life involves moving around a little more often, then they’re likely to keep that habit up as they get older, too. This can mean making sure that they’re taking care of more physically mobile chores of the house, such as taking out the trash, mowing the lawn, or cycling to the store to pick up some groceries for you. It fits a little more activity into their life while also teaching them some responsibility for the home.
Kids’ motivations are pretty easy to figure out. They like fun, they like friends, and they don’t like things changing too quickly on them. Keep that in mind, and it’s not too difficult to find ways to make exercise more fun for them.
Photo by Lukas