How to get the whole family moving – TOGETHER
Babies and toddlers spend an awful lot of time strapped into car seats or engaging in screen time. Not only does this prevent them from practising their emerging gross motor skills and strengthening their heart, lungs, and muscles, but it can also set them up for a sedentary lifestyle.
Exercise with family does double duty as quality time – no small consideration given our jam-packed schedules. Let these creative ideas help turn every day into an opportunity to get fit – and have fun – together!
- Go for pre- or post-dinner walks
Whether you head into town or just cruise the neighbourhood, building a walk into your daily schedule ensures that it won’t get put off. To make walking more enticing, make a sport of it i.e. “at one house we look for the cat sitting in the window”.
- Crank up the music and boogie down
Move the furniture aside, fill the CD player with dance tunes and let the kids invite their friends over for a disco night.
- Make a game out of household chores
Pretend that the dust creatures are invading earth and it’s up to Captain [insert child’s name] to save the day by capturing them with his broom.
- Sneak workouts into other activitiesHave your toddler walk instead of riding in the cart at the supermarket, and take the stairs or walk up the escalator whenever possible.
- Turn TV commercials into fitness breaks
Invent silly names for simple exercises like squats, push-ups, and sit-ups, and then do them together till the show comes back on.
- Have a weekly sports night
Every Tuesday, for example, get everyone up and moving.
- Walk or run for charity
Model the values of exercise – and of giving back to society – by teaming up with your children for a fund-raising race.
- Put the kids to work in the yard
If Autumn brings down the leaves in your area, make a game out of catching them on a windy day – see who can catch the most yellow, orange, or brown ones. Then rake them into piles – give the kids child-sized rakes so they can help – and have fun jumping in them, or take turns completely covering one another in leaves.
- Team up for gardening
Kids are great at digging up dirt, so let them turn the soil over and help you plant new bulbs.
- Walk the dog
Research shows that dog-owners have more fun losing weight and are more able to keep it off longer than non-pup owners.Don’t have a pooch? Go look for some i.e. “luckily, there are a few at the end of the street”.
We hope we have inspired you to get active as a family, by building positive habits, better communication and relationships!