Did you know that out of four children, only one performs a 60-minute workout in a day? As the grade and age of a child increases, the number of children performing physical activities decreases. Physical activity should always be included in the routine of a family. Whether it’s going to tumbling classes or just a game of baseball, we should all be making more effort to keep kids active.
I have noticed that most of my friends, who are already parents, do not promote physical activities in their family life. Most of them spend their time sitting in front of a computer. So, if you are one of them, you are in the right place.
Today is the right time to keep yourself and your children active physically. But how are you going to do this? In that case, I am here to help you. In this post, I will share with you some tips on how to keep your little ones physically active.
Read on to find out more.
What are the Benefits of Physical Activities?
Before we dive into the tips, let me first share with you the benefits of performing physical activities regularly.
Physical activities mean releasing sweat, feeling warm, and breathing heavily. All of these are possible by doing heavy exercises. Your kids need to be healthy. To ensure their well-being, they need to do exercises regularly.
One of the benefits of doing physical activity is that it helps to establish and keep healthy joints, muscles, and bones. Aside from that, it also helps you to maintain a balanced BMI (Body Mass Index) while reducing your susceptibility to heart diseases, high blood pressure or hypertension, and diabetes. Physical activities also help your children to have a good night’s sleep.
Aside from the body benefits offered by physical activities, it also helps in promoting and improving your kid’s behavioral and mental health. It is also essential in increasing the optimism and enthusiasm of your child while boosting their behavior, attention, school performance, and self-confidence. When your child is physically active, they are not prone to depression, tension, and anxiety. Physical activities also develop friendship and teamwork, especially in school.
The following are the effective ways to keep your child active physically:
Emphasize Fun
The first tip I can share with you is to help your kids determine the sport where he/she can find fulfillment and satisfaction. When a child enjoys what he/she is doing, they will do it regularly. They could get involved with a team at school or locally, which can help them with their confidence, social skills, and they may even take part in sport team fundraisers for the team in order to raise money for kit, equipment, etc., which will help teach them the value of money. Aside from your kids, you should also encourage your husband or wife to do the sport for a more enjoyable physical fitness experience. It is also the simplest way for your family to spend time with each other.
Provide Active Toys
If your kid is still young, I recommend you give them active toys, such as jump ropes, balls, and more. Through this, you are encouraging him/her to become more active while enjoying learning and playing.
Play with your Children
The third tip I want to share with you is to encourage them to learn a new physical activity or sport. If this is impossible to happen, I recommend you to take them for a bike ride, hike, or walk. This is also a fun activity to do with the whole family.
Exercise and Diet
There is no doubt that most kids these days are overwhelmed with music lessons, homework, and other activities. This restricts them from finding time for doing exercises. Despite how busy their schedule is, it is always important for you to help them find time to do a physical workout, even for ten minutes only. Similarly, make sure they are eating clean and getting the proper nutrients from their diet. Sometimes kids may face problems with digestion due to a lack of certain elements in their food like fiber. In such cases, consider looking for the best fiber supplements available for your kids to improve their digestion. Providing your family doctor approves, you may also consider giving them other supplements necessary for them.
Get Them to Try Martial Arts
Martial arts can help children to build self-confidence and learn discipline. It also provides them with an outlet to stay physically active, while also learning some self-defense. Given the number of options available when it comes to martial arts, it can surely be confusing which one to choose. Parents can likely begin with jiu jitsu training. It happens to be an excellent martial art, as it emphasizes technique rather than power and strength. This means it can teach children how to defend themselves without the need to resort to physical force.
Be a Role Model
As a parent, you should always be a good role model for your kids. Parents who are often seen by their little ones doing physical activities and enjoying sports usually influence their kids to imitate what they are doing. So, if you want to make your kids active physically, it is important to show them how you love doing sports and performing exercises routinely.
Conclusion
There are lots of things you can do to keep your child healthy and at the same time active. A healthy mind and body can help your kids perform well in school. So, aside from giving them healthy foods, encourage them to do sports and other physical exercises to release toxins from their body through sweating.