Based on the guidelines of the government, children who are over the age of 6 should have at least 1 hour of physical activity each day. Active kids are usually both happy and healthy which is why kids fitness should be promoted. However, a lot of kids nowadays do not get enough exercise everyday due to the advancement of technology but you, as parents, can do something about it.
Effective Tips to Promote Kids Fitness
1. Be an example – If your kids will see you doing nothing but just sitting or lying on your couch while watching TV or playing video games, they will most likely follow that can of attitude. You can’t just command or tell them to go outside and be active when you are not even doing it. Take your child for a walk or play with them outside. Set an example and you’ll be amazed how they will follow your actions.
2. Buy Ride on Toys – Your child might not like walking for a long period of time and if you’re not careful, this could result in them not being active at all. As an alternative, you can buy them ride on toys such as a simple balance bike for young kids or roller blades for older children. These toys will encourage your child to go play outside and be active.
3. Flying Kites – Flying a kite doesn’t need too much physical effort but they will be great in encouraging your child to go outside, be active and enjoy the fresh air.
4. Don’t buy too many electronics – If you want your child to be active and encourage him or her to play outside instead of hiding inside the room, then you should avoid buying them too many electronics such as putting a television and a video game console inside their room. If they really want play with a video game, there is the Kinect or the Wii which can encourage movement due to the games available to these gaming consoles.
5. Mix it up – To avoid your child from getting easily bored, don’t do the same activity every day. Instead, do a variety of activities each day. For example you can play games. This will not only encourage your child to become active but they will have fun at the same time.
3 thoughts on “5 Tips for Kids Fitness”
Naomi
Not to buy them electronics is easier said than done! I agree it’s best to get ones that will keep them active like wii, but it’s not always what they want 🙁
Emily
I prefer best to limit the time they spend on those electronics and TV together. So they have a certain amount of “screen time” they can use in a day. THen its up to them if they want to use it all at once or spread it through the day, and if they want to play games or save some for TV.
Ruthie Smith Gordon
But how do you do that if they are in their room with headphones on so you can’t even hear?
Or when they go to a friends house… I was strict with my kids but all that happened was, instead of having friends over to our place, they would go to the friends houses and play all their games there. One of my kids even kept his Xbox games at his friends house 🙁