By the statistics, children are spending more and more time in front of a TV or buckled into a car seat. This type of sedentary activities can lead to learned behaviors that may carry on to their adulthood (sedentary lifestyle or obesity). In addition, regular activity ensures healthy development and strengthening of a child’s lungs, heart, muscles, and improving their motor skills.
Since exercise is good for everyone, below are some examples of some activities the entire family can do, not only helping to improve the health of your children, but your own in the process as well:
Turn on Some Music and Dance
While many people lack the audacity to dance in public, few hesitate to dance around at home with their kids. You can find songs that the kids know or anything that they just want to get down to. Getting engaged with your children during dancing gets them working their entire bodies and is a great way to have fun with the kids while getting into better shape.
Go for Pre-Dinner Walks
Going for a walk with the family is a great way to get some exercise in as well as share your day with the family. This can be done any time of the day where you have a solid 20-30 minutes of free time available. Ideally, walks are best before meals, as after meals, the blood is used digesting the food in your belly and as such, less is in the muscles for exercise.
Make Chores into Games
Sweeping can be turned into a game of wiping away dust monsters. Putting away chores can be made into a game where the toy box is a safe area and the floor is going to turn into lava. There are plenty of ways that just about any household chore can be turned into a game, making it a family event that the kids will actually enjoy.
Also read - Exercises to do at Your Desk
Get Some Exercise During Commercials
By making up childish nicknames for things like push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and the like can turn it into a fun event for the kids. During breaks, the family all does them together until the show comes back on.
Make Daily Activities a Workout
When you go to the supermarket, have your child walk instead of riding in the shopping cart. Take the stairs instead of the escalator whenever possible. Park at the far end of the parking lot for an extra walk. There are plenty of ways to turn daily routines into a physical activity.
Have a Sports Night
Find a regular family event to get the family up and moving. If you have a Dave & Busters nearby, play the physical activities, like air hockey, basketball, or other physically demanding games. Play laser tag. Go to your local batting cage. You can even make up games for at home, like cards with activities on it that each family member draws from. You can even get a premade deck such as this from fitdeck.com.
